Two men were ordered to spend a combined 20 years in prison on charges stemming from drug trafficking in the Fort Worth area.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas announced that two convicted drug traffickers, one of whom is a documented gang member, were recently sentenced to significant jail time.
On February 5, U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor sentenced Rhance Guerin, 27, to nine years in federal prison.
Guerin was arrested on August 2, 2023, after the Johnson County STOP Special Crimes Unit learned that he had been selling fentanyl, a very potent and addictive opioid.
He was found with 425 grams of fentanyl, 3.9 kg of marijuana, 14.6 grams of cocaine, and 253.9 grams of psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms. Three firearms were also uncovered in the purported gang member’s possession.
The defendant pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute in October 2023. Guerin was one of four suspects arrested on murder charges in the fatal shooting of An’Jonae J. Eubanks, 33, in Fort Worth in 2020. Only 19-year-old Adrian Robinson was ultimately indicted on these charges.
The other convicted Fort Worth drug peddler, 39-year-old Willie Bryant, came to the attention of authorities in May 2023 thanks to a Crime Stoppers tip. Upon the execution of a warrant at Bryant’s residence, they uncovered 24 grams of methamphetamine, 15 grams of black tar heroin, 51 fentanyl pills, 5 grams of cocaine, and 1.65 ounces of marijuana. He also had raw materials for making fentanyl, which Daniel Segura of the Fort Worth police estimated as being enough for approximately 900,000 doses, according to NBC 5 DFW.
Bryant was also in possession of a doctor’s prescription pad, 10 firearms, as well as Social Security cards, driver’s licenses, bank cards, and other forms of ID belonging to 10 other people.
He pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute in October 2023 and was sentenced to just over 11 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman on February 2.
Despite recent efforts to fight against fentanyl, drug crime in Dallas continues to tax the resources of the Dallas Police Department. A total of 1,020 reports of drug violations had already been logged this year as of February 5, marking a 4.6% rise from the year prior, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard.
Meanwhile, DPD fields only around 3,000 officers even though a City report called for a force of 4,000. It will also dispose of just $654 million this year, with City officials spending far less on police operations than amounts seen in other high-crime jurisdictions, like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Downtown Dallas regularly logs far more criminal activity than Fort Worth’s city center, which is patrolled by a dedicated special police unit in concert with private security guards.
