Fort Wayne Man Sentenced to 240 Months in Prison

FORT WAYNE – Payne T. Randle, 40 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after being found guilty by a jury for possessing controlled substances with intent to distribute, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson. 

Randle was sentenced to 240 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, on February 4, 2021, the Allen County Drug Task Force was notified by a commercial carrier of a suspicious package addressed to Randle’s residence.  A search warrant for the package revealed it contained approximately 368 grams of methamphetamine and 444 grams of marijuana.  A subsequent search warrant and stop resulted in the recovery of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and marijuana, a loaded firearm, a 50-round drum-style magazine, and numerous boxes of ammunition as well as additional methamphetamine and four more firearms.  Randle has previous felony drug convictions and a felony robbery conviction, which prohibited him from possessing the firearms.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Allen County Drug Task Force, the Allen County Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s North Central Laboratory, and the Indiana State Police Laboratory. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Stacey R. Speith and Justin C. Sheridan.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.