Fort Wayne Man Sentenced to 360 Months in Prison

FORT WAYNE – Kendrick D. Bates, 40 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after a jury found him guilty of distributing methamphetamine, possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and maintaining a drug-involved premises, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Bates was sentenced to 360 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, Bates distributed methamphetamine in late 2021 and also maintained a drug distribution house from September 2021 through March 2022.  When his residence was searched in March 2022, several firearms were recovered. Since Bates had a previous felony conviction for dealing in cocaine, narcotic drug, or methamphetamine, he was prohibited from possessing the firearms in this case. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Fort Wayne Safe Streets Gang Task Force and the Fort Wayne Police Department, with assistance from the Indiana State Police, the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s North Central Laboratory, the Fort Wayne Police Laboratory, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the United States Marshals Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony W. Geller and Teresa L Ashcraft.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

This case was also 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.