Indy man sentenced to 10 years after being found with enough fentanyl to kill more than 29,000 people

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison this week for armed fentanyl trafficking and illegal gun possession.

Julius Johnson, 44, was sentenced after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on June 7, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on Johnson’s storage unit as part of a drug trafficking investigation.

When police went to search the storage unit, they found Johnson, who was immediately arrested.

Police found $5,636 and multiple cell phones on Johnson’s person, according to court documents.

Inside the storage unit, officers located a vehicle that contained a firearm. Johnson’s DNA was found on the gun.

After further investigation, police located a bag containing 59.2 grams of fentanyl in Johnson’s underpants.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, as little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal, depending on a person’s body size, tolerance, and past usage.

By this math, Johnson had as many as 29,600 lethal doses of fentanyl on him at the time of capture.