LEXINGTON, KY. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Kentucky, Eastern), published as received.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Lexington, Ky., man, Quentin Montez Leavell, 33, was sentenced to 144 months of imprisonment yesterday by U.S. District Judge Chad Meredith for conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, distribution of fentanyl, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  

            According to his plea agreement, from February 2021 to July 2021, Leavell agreed with others, including codefendants, Dominque Cornell Duff and Lakwon Marquis Givens, to distribute fentanyl contained in counterfeit pills that resembled Percocet, with markings of “M, 30.” Leavell further admitted that he possessed a firearm to protect himself and to deter others from attempting to rob or steal drugs and/or money from him.

            Codefendants Duff and Givens were sentenced in September 2026, to 155 months and 170 months, respectively, for their roles in the conspiracy.

            Jason Parman, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Dennis M. Fetting, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Chief Lawrence Weathers, Lexington Police Department, jointly announced the sentences.

            The investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Lexington Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Bradbury prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States. 

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. 

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