A 31-year-old Paris, Kentucky man was sentenced in a federal conspiracy case built around one of the deadliest synthetic opioids on the street today. Adrian Kmari Lattimore was sentenced Friday to 26 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a mixture containing fentanyl and carfentanil.
The sentencing was announced by FBI Louisville
on social media. According to an
October 19 release from the U.S. Department of Justice
, Lattimore's co-defendants in the case were Craig Martez Williams and Jerome Zachary Newton Jr.
How the Deal Unfolded From Cincinnati to Lexington
The department's account lays out how the conspiracy actually moved the drugs. Williams first offered to sell carfentanil to an informant over FaceTime, then arranged a sample handoff in Cincinnati. The case also involved an alleged carfentanil handoff in Lexington, according to the same release.
Federal laboratory testing of the seized narcotics later confirmed a mixture of fentanyl, carfentanil, and morphine, the Justice Department reported. Court records published by CaseMine add another layer to the case: during recorded wiretap negotiations in 2025, Williams initially quoted $85,000 for two kilos of carfentanil and later agreed to $65,000 for two kilos, details that emerged during federal pre-trial detention proceedings in Lexington.
A Drug Built to Kill in Microscopic Doses
Carfentanil's danger is not exaggerated for effect. Carfentanil is an elephant tranquilizer roughly 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine.
Kentucky lawmakers moved to toughen penalties for this type of trafficking before Lattimore's case reached sentencing. House Bill 215, known as Dalton's Law, raised the sentence-serving threshold from 50% to 85% and eliminated pretrial-diversion eligibility for covered offenses.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Eastern Kentucky
Lattimore's case is not the first carfentanil prosecution to move through the Eastern District of Kentucky. Eugene Fishback received a 40-year federal prison sentence in a case involving more than 10 grams of carfentanil.
Speaking on the April 2025 operation that led to Lattimore's arrest, FBI Louisville Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson said it “demonstrates the effectiveness of the law enforcement partnerships that exist throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky.” She added that the bureau and its partners “will not stand by while violent criminals run illegal drug trafficking operations throughout our communities,” warning that “if you are a violent criminal running drugs and guns on the streets of Kentucky, let this serve as a warning that the FBI will find you and ensure justice is served.”
