Brainerd Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Fentanyl in the Brainerd Lakes Area

MINNEAPOLIS - A Brainerd man has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute thousands of fentanyl pills, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, on August 1, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a storage unit in Brainerd that belonged to Dazaughn Ellis West, 28. Inside the unit, officers found between 13,000 and 15,000 pressed fentanyl pills, weighing approximately 2.8 pounds. Law enforcement also executed a search warrant at West's home in Brainerd, where they found an additional 150 grams of fentanyl pills, a loaded semi-automatic pistol, a .22 caliber rifle, and distributable quantities of cocaine.

West pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court before Judge John R. Tunheim to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. West's co-defendant, Devaughn Ellis West, is scheduled to plead guilty on August 19, 2024. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled at a later date.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office, Brainerd Police Department, and the Lakes Area Drug Investigative Division (LADID).

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren O. Roso is prosecuting the case.