A Clinton Township man who is accused of illegally possessing the largest amount of fentanyl ever in Michigan has been denied release pending his trial.
Barry Willis, 55, who owns a Detroit gas station and adjoining car wash, was ordered April 4 by Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Stafford in U.S. District Court in Detroit to remain in custody pending trial due to the strength of the evidence against him, his prior criminal history and potential lengthy prison term in if convicted.
Willis was indicted on charges of possession of over 400 grams of fentanyl with the intent to distribute it, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon, according to federal court documents. Willis faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted of the charges, U.S. attorneys said.
The 90 pounds of fentanyl were present in a out 160,000 pills valued at about $4.5 million, officials said.
“This amount of fentanyl has the potential to provide nearly two deadly doses to every man, woman and child living in the state of Michigan,” said Orville Green, special agent charge of the DEA in Detroit.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid analgesic that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent.”
“This major seizure of fentanyl has saved lives,” added Livonia Police Chief Thomas Goralski, whose department investigated the case.
Officers from the Livonia Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Michigan State Police searched the stash house on Littlefield Street near Eight Mile Road and Schaefer Highway in Detroit on March 28 and found the 41 kilograms of fentanyl in powder and pill form, and 2.6 kilograms in the basement along with a large pill press, a small pill press, a narcotics press, a handgun, narcotics packaging materials, narcotics scales, and $18,000 of suspected narcotics proceeds, according to the complaint filed April 1 by Dominic Michels, DEA task force officer.
The same day, Livonia and Clinton Township police searched Willis’ home on Dorchester Court near Romeo Plank Road and Cass Avenue and seized $131,000 in suspected narcotics proceeds, 10 watches, a gold chain with a platinum pendant and a handgun, the complaint says.
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At his Citgo gas station and car wash near Livernois Avenue and Davison Freeway, Livonia police and MSP found $3,000 in suspected drug proceeds, according to the complaint.
Police began investigation the case after receiving information last September, Michels says. The probe included purchases of heroin laced with fentanyl by a confidential informant in February and March at undisclosed locations, according to the complaint. Officers also conducted surveillance on Willis’ property and an eatery owned by Willis’ wife on Livernois in Detroit.
“We are incredibly proud of our law enforcement partners who conducted this investigation and recovered these deadly substances before they could harm members of our community,” said Dawn Isaon, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Ramamurthy.
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