Lucas Ehly, a 31-year-old resident of Omaha, Nebraska, has been sentenced in federal court for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl. United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr., handed down a sentence of 57 months' imprisonment to Ehly on December 20, 2024. Following his prison term, Ehly will serve a three-year period of supervised release.
The charges against Ehly stem from incidents in June and July of 2023 when he sold fentanyl pills to a confidential informant. These transactions were facilitated by co-defendant Rafael Magana. On July 24, 2023, authorities executed search warrants at the residences of both Ehly and Magana. During these searches, seven fentanyl pills were discovered in Ehly's bedroom. In contrast, agents found over 1,000 fentanyl pills and $6,680 in cash at Magana's residence. A subsequent search of Magana’s storage unit uncovered an additional 13,800 fentanyl pills.
Upon his arrest and after being informed of his rights, Ehly admitted to participating in the distribution scheme orchestrated by Magana. He confessed that he was compensated with fentanyl pills for selling them to customers linked to Magana.
Rafael Magana also faced sentencing; on December 13, 2024, he received a sentence of 180 months in prison. The cash seized during the investigation has been ordered forfeited as proceeds from illegal drug trafficking activities. Another co-defendant involved in the case, Zacharie Stinson from Omaha, was sentenced earlier in September to serve 57 months in prison.
The investigation leading to these convictions was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration alongside the Omaha Metro Drug Task Force.