A Dayton, Ohio resident, Julius Cole, 39, received a 132-month prison sentence from Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning. Cole was convicted of aiding and abetting the intended distribution of a significant amount of a fentanyl analogue, according to court documents.
The case against Cole stemmed from an incident on January 2, 2024, when law enforcement officers used a confidential informant to set up a controlled fentanyl purchase from Earnest Bryson. Bryson had agreed to sell a kilogram of the substance to the informant. The following day, Cole, Bryson, and co-defendant Gerald Young traveled from Dayton to Fort Wright, Kentucky, to deliver the drugs. Upon arrival, they were intercepted by law enforcement officers, who subsequently discovered their attempt to destroy the drugs by mixing them with Coca-Cola. Despite this, tests revealed the presence of fentanyl and fluorofentanyl in the substance.
Further investigation into the case indicated that another co-defendant, Germel Hughes, had supplied the drugs to Bryson. Hughes had arranged for Cole to accompany Bryson to Kentucky, giving instructions to destroy the drugs with soda if stopped by authorities. Cole admitted to assisting Bryson in the intended distribution of the fentanyl.
Young and Hughes have admitted to drug trafficking charges and are due for sentencing in June and July.
Under federal regulations, Cole is required to serve 85 percent of his sentence and will undergo five years of supervised release, managed by the U.S. Probation Office, upon his release from prison.
The sentence follows an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Kentucky State Police (KSP). Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, along with John Nokes and Phillip J. Burnett, Jr., jointly announced the sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Winslow is handling the prosecution.