Bradenton man gets prison after bag full of drugs found on traffic stop, prosecutors say
.jpg "A 36-year-old Bradenton man has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison after he was convicted for fentanyl and illegal gun possession.")
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a Bradenton man to nine years in federal prison after he was convicted of having a large amount of fentanyl and a gun during a traffic stop in 2022.
Eugene Washington Jr., 36, was arrested on Aug. 12, 2022, by Bradenton police officers, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release. Officers had received a call about an unresponsive person sitting behind the wheel of a car in traffic on Ninth Street East.
Officers ordered Washington out of the car, and said they then saw him reach for a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber pistol on the driver’s seat, according to the release. They said the gun was loaded with 11 rounds.
They also found a backpack containing large amounts of controlled substances, the U.S. attorney’s office said. They said it held 44 grams of fentanyl, 35 grams of methamphetamine, 93 grams of cocaine base, 13 grams of cocaine, 36 grams of hydrocodone, 9 grams of oxycodone, 433 grams of dimethylpentylone and 21 grams of cannabis.
“Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine,” the Florida Department of Health says on its website. “Fentanyl overdose is the number one cause of death in Americans ages 18-45. Fentanyl is involved in more deaths of Americans under 50 than any cause of death, including heart disease, cancer, homicide and suicide.”
Washington was previously convicted of distributing heroin and was not allowed to have a gun as a convicted felon, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Washington faced a maximum of 55 years in federal prison, the U.S. attorney’s office said in June. He accepted a plea deal and was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession with the intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.
The case was investigated by the Bradenton Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. attorneys David W.A. Chee and Diego F. Novaes, the news release said.