ST. LOUIS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)), published as received.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Thursday sentenced a man from St. Louis County, Missouri who sold fentanyl and other drugs to 15 years in prison.

Dennis M. Davis, 48, pleaded guilty in September to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl. He admitted buying drugs from a Mexican source of supply and then returning some of the drug proceeds to a courier.

On Oct. 6, 2023, investigators conducted a court-approved search of Davis’ home in St. Louis County and found fentanyl, three handguns and $6,679 in cash. At a stash house in St. Louis used by Davis, they found a money counter, scales, kilograms of fentanyl and other drugs, four rifles and a handgun.

“Dennis Davis had enough fentanyl in his stash house to kill every single resident in the city of St. Louis,” Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Field Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Davis said. “He was a threat to our city, pushing poisons, destroying lives and all the while lining his pockets with proceeds. Today’s sentencing demonstrates that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in our city, our state or our nation.”

“This case is another example of good task force work fueled by cooperation between both local and federal law enforcement agencies,” said IRS-CI St. Louis Special Agent in Charge William Steenson. “IRS-CI’s role in narcotics investigations is to follow the money so we can disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations. We’re proud to provide our financial expertise as we work alongside our law enforcement partners to bring criminals to justice.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS – Criminal Investigations, the St. Louis County Police Department and the U.S. Marshals investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Delworth prosecuted the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.