Seattle Man Pleads Guilty to Dealing Fentanyl While Armed with a Handgun
SEATTLE – A Seattle man, involved with firearms and fentanyl, pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Seattle to federal charges that carry a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Lavonta Austin, 30, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge James L. Robart on October 17, 2023.
“Our office and our investigative partners work every day to stop the flow of fentanyl into our community,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gorman. “We pursue large cartel-connected drug rings that import hundreds of thousands of pills, as well as individual dealers whose criminal conduct with guns and drugs undermines the safety of our community.”
Lavonta Austin was first contacted by Seattle Police at 3rd Avenue and Pike Street in downtown Seattle on August 4, 2022. After selling fentanyl pills to an undercover officer, Austin attempted to run from police when they took him into custody. Austin had methamphetamine, fentanyl, more than $2,000 in cash and a loaded 45 caliber handgun. A few months later, on October 9, 2022, Austin was arrested at a Seattle motel with fentanyl, methamphetamine, $1,770 in cash and a loaded 9mm handgun. Both the prosecutors and defense will recommend a 5-year sentence.
The judge is not bound by the recommendation and can impose any sentence allowed by law.
Both men pleaded guilty to possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The drug possession charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The gun crime is punishable by a mandatory minimum five years in prison that runs consecutive to the sentence imposed on the drug possession charge.
This case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson.
