Fort Wayne Man Sentenced to 180 Months in Prison

FORT WAYNE -Brandon Dewaun Golden, 36 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to distributing a controlled substance, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Golden was sentenced to 180 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, on two occasions in August 2023, Golden distributed hundreds of fentanyl pills and approximately 400 grams of methamphetamine while possessing a loaded firearm. A traffic stop resulted in the recovery of that firearm. Golden has two prior felony state court convictions, any one of which prohibited him from possessing the firearm in this case.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Fort Wayne Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes the FBI, the Fort Wayne Police Department, the Indiana State Police, and the Allen County Sheriff's Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin C. Sheridan.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.