Michigan City Woman Sentenced to 130 Months in Prison

SOUTH BEND –Meliki Marion, 42 years old, of Michigan City, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Marion was sentenced to 130 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, from June through mid-August 2021, Marion conspired with others to distribute fentanyl in the Michigan City area. Marion’s co-defendants sold pills purporting to be oxycodone that were actually fentanyl.  In August 2021, two co-defendants were stopped while traveling back to Michigan City with over a kilogram of fentanyl pills.  Marion was in possession of over $3,000 when apprehended by law enforcement as she attempted to run away from her residence as it was to be searched.  Marion admitted that she collected money related to the conspiracy.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (including the Chicago Field Division, the Merrillville District Office, the Amarillo Texas Resident Office and the Albuquerque New Mexico District Office) with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the LaPorte County Drug Task Force, an Indiana HIDTA Initiative, and the Michigan City Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kimberly L. Schultz and Joel Gabrielse.

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.

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