Joint Investigation Results in Federal Indictment for Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy

Paducah, KY – A federal grand jury in Paducah, Kentucky returned an indictment on February 13, 2024, charging a Hopkinsville, Kentucky man with conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. 

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Acting Special Agent in Charge Erek G. Davodowich of the DEA Louisville Field Division, Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the ATF Louisville Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Nashville, U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Lesley Allison of the Pittsburgh Division, and Chief Jason Newby of the Hopkinsville Police Department made the announcement.

According to the indictment, Jason Stewart, 35, was charged with conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. 

Stewart made his initial court appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Western District of Kentucky on February 21, 2024. If convicted, Stewart faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The defendant remains in federal custody pending further proceedings. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is being investigated by the DEA Paducah Post of Duty and the Hopkinsville Police Department Special Investigations Unit, with assistance from the ATF Bowling Green and Paducah Field Offices, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Postal Investigations Service, the Kentucky State Police, the Calloway County Sheriff’s Office, and the Madisonville Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leigh Ann Dycus, of the U.S. Attorney’s Paducah Branch Office, is prosecuting this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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