DETROIT — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Michigan, Eastern), published as received.
DETROIT – A Detroit gas station owner has been convicted of several federal crimes stemming from his involvement with a Detroit-based stash house that held over 42 kilograms of fentanyl, a pill press, and a variety of other materials used to manufacture fentanyl pills, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. announced today.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Joseph O. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division, and Chief of Livonia Police Department Thomas Goralski.
On March 28, 2024, members of the Livonia Police Department Intelligence Bureau executed search warrants at three locations connected to Barry Willis, now 58, a resident of Clinton Township and owner of a Detroit gas station. Officers searched Willis’s primary residence in Clinton Township, his gas station in Detroit, as well as his stash house in Detroit. In the basement of the stash house, officers recovered over 42 kilograms of fentanyl in both pill and powder form, as well as a hoard of materials for manufacturing fentanyl pills such as a commercial pill press, narcotics scales, and drug recipes. Officers further located two handguns at the stash house, one at Willis’s residence, and another at his gas station, as well as over $134,000 in cash from Willis’s Clinton Township residence. Some of the items recovered by law enforcement at these locations are pictured below:
On September 14, 2026, a jury convicted Willis of possession of over 400 grams of fentanyl with the intent to distribute it, conspiracy to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl with the intent to distribute it, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and unlawful possession of a pill press. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 15 years’ imprisonment at sentencing, which is set for January 11, 2027. The case is assigned to Judge Laurie J. Michelson of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
“Forty kilograms of fentanyl represents an astonishing 20 million potentially deadly doses. Enough poison to threaten every man, woman, and child in Detroit and across Michigan. Fentanyl is a weapon being used to fuel addiction, destroy families, and drive violence in American communities. We will relentlessly pursue the cartels and traffickers responsible, seize their drugs and money, dismantle their networks, and use every resource at our disposal to protect American lives and make America fentanyl free,” said Joseph O. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division.
"This major seizure of fentanyl has saved lives. The great partnerships we have with law enforcement at the federal, state and local levels in southeast Michigan, enable us to make these types of investigations successful,” said Chief Goralski.
This case was investigated by the Livonia Police Department, including officers assigned to the Livonia Police Intelligence Bureau, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Ramamurthy and Thomas Cribbins.
