A federal grand jury in Paducah, Kentucky, returned an indictment on March 14, 2023, charging a Christian County felon with illegally possessing a firearm, possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge J. Todd Scott of the DEA Louisville Field Division and Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Maynard of the ATF Louisville Field Division made the announcement.
According to the indictment, Morgan Hancock, Jr., 45, of Pembroke, Kentucky, was charged with possessing over 500 grams of cocaine with the intent to distribute it, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Hancock was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he was previously convicted in Christian Circuit Court of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.
Hancock, Jr. made his initial court appearance on March 24, 2023, before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Western District of Kentucky. If convicted, Hancock, Jr. faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is being investigated by the DEA Paducah Post of Duty Office and the ATF Bowling Green Field Office with assistance from the DEA Nashville Field Division, the 19th Judicial Task Force in Montgomery County Tennessee, the DEA Nashville HIDTA TF-3, the Christian County Sheriff’s Office, and the Hopkinsville Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Leigh Ann Dycus, of the U.S. Attorney’s Paducah Branch Office, is prosecuting this case.
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.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Original source can be found here.