Lafayette man sentenced 24 years for dealing fentanyl, marijuana

A Lafayette man was sentenced to serve 24 years in the Department of Corrections for dealing in fentanyl, according to a press release from Cass County Prosecutor Noah Schafer. The sentence follows a guilty plea entered on the morning of April 22 of this year, moments before he was scheduled to begin a jury trial. Charges stem from a vehicle pursuit that happened in the early morning of April 26, 2021. Cass County Sheriff Deputy Michael Thomison observed a black sedan being driven by 24-year-old Cameron Gonzales, who was driving 85 mph on U.S. 24 and County Road 1000 E. Thomison attempted a traffic stop for the speeding and a pursuit ensues reaching speeds exceeding 140 mph. Deputy Nick Bowyer of Cass County and Officer Cody Koedam of the Logansport Police Department deployed stop sticks, disabling the car. At the sentencing hearing, Bowyer testified that the vehicle narrowly missed striking him and Koedam as it sped through the Anoka exchange intersection and then U.S. 35 and 18th St., the press release says. A search of the vehicle located 47 pounds of marijuana, 52 fentanyl pills, over $83,000 worth of drug dealing funds and multiple firearms, including a glock handgun with a selector switch that made the gun capable of fully automatic fire. Charged codefendants 22-year-old Bishop Brown and 22-year-old Ronald Wells, both of Lafayette, were also in the vehicle. Gonzales plead open to the court to all charges, meaning he did not have any plea agreement with the State, the release says. He was sentenced to 24 years for dealing in fentanyl, a level 2 felony, dealing in marijuana, a level 5 felony, resisting law enforcement, a level 6 felony, and carrying a handgun without a license, a Class A misdemeanor. Wells pleaded guilty to charges relating to dealing marijuana in 2022. Brown was tried by a Cass County jury in August and convicted of dealing marijuana and firearm offenses and acquitted of charges relating to fentanyl. They have also been charged and convicted of armed robberies that occurred in Lafayette after the incident in Cass County. Gonzales also plead guilty in Tippecanoe County to dealing psilocybin and domestic battery, and he faces sentencing in October for that crime. He, Brown and Wells still face charges of attempted murder in Monroe County, Michigan for another unrelated drive-by shooting. “We’re grateful to the Cass County Sheriff’s Department and the Logansport Police Department for the apprehension and investigation conducted in this case and for all they do to put their lives on the line for our community every day,” Schafer said in the press release. “They keep our streets and highways safe for citizens. Drug dealers, on the other hand, should find business routes that don’t take them through Cass County.”

A Lafayette man was sentenced to serve 24 years in the Department of Corrections for dealing in fentanyl, according to a press release from Cass County Prosecutor Noah Schafer. The sentence follows a guilty plea entered on the morning of April 22 of this year, moments before he was scheduled to begin a jury trial.

Charges stem from a vehicle pursuit that happened in the early morning of April 26, 2021. Cass County Sheriff Deputy Michael Thomison observed a black sedan being driven by 24-year-old Cameron Gonzales, who was driving 85 mph on U.S. 24 and County Road 1000 E. Thomison attempted a traffic stop for the speeding and a pursuit ensues reaching speeds exceeding 140 mph.

Deputy Nick Bowyer of Cass County and Officer Cody Koedam of the Logansport Police Department deployed stop sticks, disabling the car. At the sentencing hearing, Bowyer testified that the vehicle narrowly missed striking him and Koedam as it sped through the Anoka exchange intersection and then U.S. 35 and 18th St., the press release says.

A search of the vehicle located 47 pounds of marijuana, 52 fentanyl pills, over $83,000 worth of drug dealing funds and multiple firearms, including a glock handgun with a selector switch that made the gun capable of fully automatic fire. Charged codefendants 22-year-old Bishop Brown and 22-year-old Ronald Wells, both of Lafayette, were also in the vehicle.

Gonzales plead open to the court to all charges, meaning he did not have any plea agreement with the State, the release says. He was sentenced to 24 years for dealing in fentanyl, a level 2 felony, dealing in marijuana, a level 5 felony, resisting law enforcement, a level 6 felony, and carrying a handgun without a license, a Class A misdemeanor.

Wells pleaded guilty to charges relating to dealing marijuana in 2022. Brown was tried by a Cass County jury in August and convicted of dealing marijuana and firearm offenses and acquitted of charges relating to fentanyl. They have also been charged and convicted of armed robberies that occurred in Lafayette after the incident in Cass County.

Gonzales also plead guilty in Tippecanoe County to dealing psilocybin and domestic battery, and he faces sentencing in October for that crime. He, Brown and Wells still face charges of attempted murder in Monroe County, Michigan for another unrelated drive-by shooting.

“We’re grateful to the Cass County Sheriff’s Department and the Logansport Police Department for the apprehension and investigation conducted in this case and for all they do to put their lives on the line for our community every day,” Schafer said in the press release. “They keep our streets and highways safe for citizens. Drug dealers, on the other hand, should find business routes that don’t take them through Cass County.”