Leader of Fentanyl Trafficking Organization in Duluth Sentenced to 174 Months in Prison

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Defendant Ezell “Cash” Lucas, 34, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced to 174 months in prison for his role in a large-scale drug trafficking operation responsible for transporting mass quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine from Chicago to Minnesota for sale to drug users in Duluth, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen. Lucas was the last of seven defendants in the case convicted of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances to be sentenced. From December 2021 to February 2024, Lucas managed a large-scale drug distribution operation (the “Lucas DTO”) based in Chicago that targeted drug customers in the Twin Ports region. Lucas worked with local drug distributors in Duluth to traffic fentanyl from Chicago and establish a customer base in Duluth. Lucas then directed criminal associates from Chicago to travel to Duluth and conduct the organization’s operations on the ground. Lucas, sitting in Chicago, fielded calls from drug customers and directed those customers to pre-determined locations in Duluth to meet Lucas’s drug dealers and complete the sales. During a two-year period, law enforcement seized more than 890 grams of fentanyl and 262 grams of methamphetamine from the Lucas DTO over the course of 19 seizure events, including controlled buys, traffic stops, residence search warrants, and a seizure incident to an overdose death. In February 2024, a federal grand jury indicted multiple defendants, including Lucas, with engaging in a Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine. This week, U.S. District Court Judge Eric C. Tostrud sentenced Lucas to 174 months in prison for his role in the offense. In August 2025, Lucas’s co-defendant Carl Brown, 32, of Chicago, proceeded to trial on the charged offense. Brown was convicted by a federal jury following a three-day trial. He was later sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment for his role in the offense. Lucas’s remaining six co-defendants pled guilty and were sentenced to the following terms of imprisonment: Anthony Green, 36, of Chicago, Illinois: 120 months Matthew Erickson, a/k/a “EZ,” 37, of Duluth, Minnesota: 60 months Robert Chism, 37, of Chicago, Illinois: 48 months Deandre Westmoreland, 37, of Chicago, Illinois: 32 months Pharoo Withersoon, 37, of Chicago, Illinois: 18 months