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Press Release

Owensboro Man Indicted by Federal Grand Jury on Fentanyl and Gun Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Kentucky

Bowling Green, KY – A federal grand jury in Bowling Green returned an indictment today charging an Owensboro, KY man with possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and with illegal possession of firearms.

According to court records, on February 18, 2022, Skylar Chase Riney, 36, a multi-time convicted felon, possessed with the intent to distribute, fentanyl and three firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities.

Riney is charged with possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The defendant will  be scheduled for his initial court appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum term of 5 years and a maximum term of 20 years in prison. There is no parole in the federal system. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky made the announcement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the Owensboro Police Department, and the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (AHIDTA) Task Force are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Dahl is prosecuting the case.

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

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Updated May 11, 2022