A federal jury has convicted a Clinton Township gas station owner in connection with a fentanyl operation that investigators say stretched from a Detroit stash house to his own Citgo station. Barry Willis, 58, was found guilty of possessing more than 400 grams of fentanyl with intent to deliver, conspiracy, unlawful possession of a pill press, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was acquitted of a separate charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to macombdaily.com, Willis owned a Detroit gas station and adjoining car wash. The case traces back to a search on March 28, 2024, when investigators raided a Detroit stash house connected to Willis and reported finding 41 kilograms of fentanyl in powder and pill form, with another 2.6 kilograms of cocaine discovered in the basement. A separate account from CBS News Detroit described the same stash-house seizure as more than 41 kilograms, or 90 pounds, of fentanyl in pill and powder form, while a separate CBS News Detroit report on the conviction referred to more than 42 kilograms tied to the case.
What Investigators Say They Found
Beyond the fentanyl itself, the Detroit stash house search turned up a large pill press, a small pill press, a narcotics press, a handgun, packaging materials, narcotics scales and $18,000 in suspected drug proceeds, the same macombdaily.com report states. Investigators also searched Willis's primary residence in Clinton Township, where they said they recovered a handgun, jewelry and cash — though the exact amount is disputed. The Macomb Daily report puts the cash at $131,000 in suspected narcotics proceeds alongside 10 watches and a gold chain with a platinum pendant, while CBS News Detroit's earlier report on the search put the figure at $133,242 in cash along with watches, a gold chain and a platinum pendant.
A third location, Willis's Citgo gas station and car wash, also turned up suspected drug proceeds. The Macomb Daily reported $3,000 found at the station, while CBS News Detroit reported $3,053 and a third handgun recovered from the Citgo location on Livernois in Detroit.
Investigation Began Months Before the Raids
Per CBS News Detroit's earlier reporting, Livonia police began investigating Willis in September 2023 after receiving information from a cooperating individual. The March 28, 2024 search warrants were carried out by Livonia police, Clinton Township police and the Drug Enforcement Administration, that report states. WXYZ similarly reported that the investigation built over months before raids hit homes in Clinton Township and Detroit along with the Detroit gas station on the same day. FOX 2 Detroit described the seizure at the time as the largest law-enforcement fentanyl seizure in Michigan to date.
The value of the seized drugs is also reported inconsistently across accounts. FOX 2 Detroit cited a seizure valued at approximately $4.2 million, while the Macomb Daily reported that the roughly 90 pounds of fentanyl were present in about 160,000 pills valued at approximately $4.5 million.
Sentencing Set for January
Willis is scheduled to be sentenced on January 11, 2027, according to the Macomb Daily report. The Macomb Daily reported he faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison on the primary charges.
A co-defendant in the case, Frances Brieanna Bryant, pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to possess at least 400 grams of fentanyl with intent to deliver, per the same Macomb Daily account.
Willis's case was assigned to Judge Laurie J. Michelson in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon announced the conviction. Joseph O. Dixon, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Detroit Division, said fentanyl fuels addiction, destroys families and drives violence in American communities, and noted that 40 kilograms of fentanyl represents 20 million potentially deadly doses.
Livonia Police Chief Thomas Goralski said the fentanyl seizure saved lives and credited law-enforcement partnerships across southeast Michigan for enabling the investigation's success.
