Shelby County deputies went to a Cordova home to serve a warrant on a 24-year-old man Thursday evening and ended up uncovering what investigators say was a multi-property drug and weapons operation, including 3.95 pounds of fentanyl that authorities equate to nearly 900,000 lethal doses. LaChristian Dayon Freeman was taken into custody after deputies watched him leave the residence and climb into an Uber, and he now faces a lineup of felony charges tied to firearms, narcotics and paraphernalia.
According to WREG.com, deputies responded to the 1700 block of Brentford Cove at 6 p.m. on Nov. 5 to serve the warrant on Freeman. He was taken into custody after deputies saw him leave the residence and get into the Uber, and detectives reportedly found $1,364 in his pocket during the arrest.
At that Brentford Cove address, detectives said they recovered three firearms, bags containing marijuana, a rifle magazine, an extended magazine, a vacuum sealer and a digital scale. Two more firearms turned up inside a Dodge Charger parked in the residence's garage, the outlet reported.
Second Property on Jerusalem Yields Fentanyl Haul
The larger seizure came from a separate residence in the 3700 block of Jerusalem, where deputies said they found a hydraulic press coated in white residue, a bullet blender, two digital scales, and the 3.95 pounds of fentanyl. The Shelby County Sheriff's Office said that quantity of fentanyl is equivalent to 884,505 lethal doses, the station's report noted.
Investigators said the hydraulic press itself tested positive for xylazine and amphetamine. Authorities describe xylazine as a non-opioid animal tranquilizer commonly used as a cutting agent with fentanyl and other illegal narcotics.
Deputies allege Freeman conducted multiple fentanyl sales in the area of Jerusalem and Fairway, according to the report. He now faces three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture, deliver or sell, and four counts of drug paraphernalia.
Bond Set at Half a Million Dollars
Freeman's bond has been set at $500,000, and he is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, Nov. 9, WREG reported.
The size of the Cordova seizure echoes an earlier case in the same area. In September 2021, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said a joint operation with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Unit and support from Homeland Security Investigations turned up two pounds of fentanyl, additional unknown white powder, a weapon and cash from a home on Breezy Valley Drive in Cordova. The TBI put the street value of that fentanyl at roughly $110,000.
Other recent Memphis-area cases point to fentanyl moving through the region in various forms. WREG has reported that a package containing 2.6 pounds of fentanyl was tied to the arrests of two men in North Memphis, and in a separate case nine men were arrested after detectives said they seized 2.5 pounds of marijuana, 434 grams of THC wax and five handguns from a home. The available evidence does not establish whether these cases reflect a broader year-over-year trend in Shelby County drug seizures.
