Cleveland Career Criminal Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison

CLEVELAND - A Cleveland-area career offender has been sentenced to prison for his role involving the distribution of controlled substances while he was out on parole for a previous offense.

Lamont Johnson, 43, was sentenced to 210 months (17.5 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams after pleading guilty last October to the following charges in an indictment:

• Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance; these included fentanyl, cocaine, and xylazine.
• Felon in Possession of a Firearm; prior convictions include Drug Trafficking in 2022 and 2012.

He was also ordered to serve eight years of supervised release after imprisonment. Johnson received a significant sentencing enhancement as a career offender. His criminal history dates back to 2001 and he was previously convicted of a number of drug and violent felonies. He also consistently failed to follow the conditions of his supervised release after previous imprisonments.

According to court documents, on Nov. 15, 2023, agents observed suspected drug activity at a gas station on East 55^th Street in Cleveland, involving a black Mercedes SUV driven by Johnson. Upon seeing this activity, agents attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle Johnson was driving. As the agents approached, Johnson put the vehicle in reverse but then fled on foot and was later apprehended.

During the investigation, agents observed a handgun in plain view on the driver's seat of Johnson's vehicle, cash on the center console, and a clear plastic bag with suspected controlled substances. A second bag with suspected marijuana was located on the ground at the gas station where Johnson fled on foot. During a search of the vehicle, the agents recovered the firearm they saw on the driver's seat, which was a loaded Glock, 9 mm caliber pistol. The clear plastic bag contained multiple baggies with powdery substances. Agents also located a box of sandwich bags, a digital scale, and $53 cash. The powder substances were submitted for lab analysis and were confirmed to be fentanyl, xylazine, and cocaine.

This case was investigated by the Agents of Ohio Investigative Unit, assigned as Task Force Officers to the ATF Crime Gun Intelligence Center. Task Force Officers work violent crime reduction initiatives Statewide. These initiatives target violent high crime areas as well as armed violent offenders and drug traffickers.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Scott Zarzycki for the Northern District of Ohio.