Dayton man sentenced to 17 years in prison for narcotics, gun crimes

DAYTON, Ohio – A Dayton man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 204 months in prison for possessing with intent to distribute bulk amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl, and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Laramie Lawson, 37, possessed more than 5.4 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 500 grams of fentanyl and three firearms, magazines, and ammunition.

“To others who may consider going down the same path as Lawson: dealing drugs may seem like easy money, but it is not worth it to lose your liberty,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. 

In January 2021, law enforcement encountered Lawson at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport with more than $19,000 in cash concealed in his carry-on bag. The day before, Lawson had purchased a one-way ticket to Los Angeles. He was unemployed at the time.

During a later investigation by the FBI’s Southern Ohio Safe Streets Task Force, task force members executed a search warrant at Lawson’s residences on Stolz Avenue and Sylvan Drive.

At the Stolz Avenue location, they discovered: 5,405 net grams of methamphetamine, 5.64 net grams of fentanyl and 2.79 net grams of cocaine. The bulk amounts of methamphetamine were in an upstairs bedroom closet as well as a kitchen cabinet. Handguns were discovered on top of the refrigerator near the methamphetamine and in an armrest of the living room recliner.

While searching the residence on Sylvan Avenue, investigators discovered bulk amounts of fentanyl and a loaded handgun in the primary bedroom.

Lawson was charged by criminal complaint in October 2022 and indicted by a grand jury in December 2022. He pleaded guilty to three federal drug counts in March 2023.

This case is 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.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and other members of the FBI’s Southern Ohio Safe Streets Task Force announced the sentence imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Walter H. Rice. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Saunders is representing the United States in this case.

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