Fayetteville Man Sentenced To More Than 5 Years In Federal Prison For Possession Of A Pill Press To Manufacture A Controlled Substance

Fayetteville, Arkansas – Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Lewis Chafin age 28, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, was sentenced today to 70 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, and a $2,400.00 fine for one count of Possession of a Tableting or Encapsulating Machine Used to Manufacture Fentanyl. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court records, investigators received information that Chafin was manufacturing counterfeit oxycodone pills mixed with fentanyl using a pill press machine, and other equipment. Chafin is on active state probation, and had signed a waiver allowing a search of his residence by law enforcement officers at any time.

In April 2018, investigators executed a search of Chafin’s residence. In a bedroom Chafin identified as his, investigators located counterfeit oxycodone pills, a container of fentanyl, a pill press, instructions for creating counterfeit oxycodone using fentanyl, and other equipment related to the manufacture of counterfeit oxycodone. Chafin was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2018, and entered a guilty plea in September 2018.

This case was investigated by the Fourth Judicial District Drug Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Denis Dean prosecuted the case for the United States.