A Rochester man has been sentenced to 198 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger on Friday.
According to court documents, Erick Fontain Thomas, 41, was a large-scale heroin and methamphetamine dealer in the Rochester area, and he used numerous guns to protect his drug operation.
On Aug. 25, 2020, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on Thomas’s Rochester residence. During the search, officers found 4.135 grams of heroin, 1.467 kilograms of methamphetamine, four loaded handguns, a loaded AR-15 style rifle, assorted ammunition and firearms accessories, drug cutting agents, digital scales, and a brick press.
Officers also went to a local FedEx Office in Rochester and seized a package that Thomas had directed another individual to send to him at a California address. The package contained $68,740 in cash drug proceeds. Thomas was arrested in Rochester on Nov. 12, 2020.
Court records show Thomas was on parole for another state drug conviction at the time of his arrest. Thomas had been sentenced in 2008 in Mower County to 15 years in prison on three felony counts of first- and second-degree narcotics. However, he was freed on supervised release (parole) in February 2019 after having served only two-thirds of his sentence under state sentencing guidelines.
Court records show Thomas has other convictions on third-degree narcotics, as well as a second- and third-degree assault. Convictions in those two separate cases were in 2004.
Thomas pleaded guilty in the federal case in August to one count of possession with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine. Federal inmates are required to serve a minimum of 85% of their sentence incarcerated. Thomas’ prison sentence will be followed by 10 years of supervised release.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
