Convicted Felon Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Possessing a Loaded Firearm and Fentanyl

WASHINGTON - Lanoix Pierrelus, 26, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 41 months in prison for unlawfully possessing a loaded firearm while also carrying 50 fentanyl pills he intended to sell, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

On Aug. 26, 2025, Pierrelus pleaded guilty before Judge Nichols in U.S. District Court to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. In addition to the 41-month prison term, Judge Nichols ordered Pierrelus to serve three years of supervised release. Federal prosecutors had requested a 51-month prison term.

According to court papers, on Oct. 22, 2024, Metropolitan Police Department officers on patrol in a high-crime area observed a group of about eight individuals congregating in the street near a Toyota sedan. When Pierrelus noticed the officers' approach, he moved quickly toward the rear passenger door of the vehicle, reached toward his groin area, and crouched behind the car. Officers searched the area where he had crouched and recovered a loaded Ruger Model 57 pistol, with a round in the chamber and 21 rounds in the magazine.

When officers searched Pierrelus following his arrest, they recovered a black satchel containing 50 blue pills stamped "M30." The pills appeared to be oxycodone but were later confirmed by a DEA laboratory chemist to be fentanyl, with a total net weight of about 5.4 grams. Pierrelus admitted he intended to sell them.

Pierrelus was on court-ordered supervision for a prior felony firearm conviction at the time of the offense.

The investigation was conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration's Washington Division Office.

The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole.

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