A Biloxi man was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

26-year-old Dean Carlin Fender, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.

According to court documents, in July of 2021, as part of the investigation into the death of an airman at Keesler Air Force Base, a drug trafficking organization was identified as operating in the sale of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl in Harrison County, Mississippi.

It was learned that this drug organization had provided fentanyl to Emmett Bennett who then caused a traffic accident on the base, killing one airman and injuring three others.  As a result of this investigation, Dean Fender was identified as the person who sold fentanyl to Bennett.  On September 2, 2021, 20 counterfeit Percocet tablets containing fentanyl were purchased from Fender in a controlled drug buy.

Fender was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 7, 2022.  He pled guilty on November 9, 2022, to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Agency.