Columbia man sentenced to 15 years for federal fentanyl trafficking charge

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was sentenced in federal court in Springfield on Thursday for a federal drug trafficking charge.

The Department of Justice said in a press release that Michael Hunt, 43, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was found guilty in July of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute.

He was accused trying to transport fentanyl from Columbia to Springfield, according to the release and previous reporting.

Hunt was driving a black Jeep Renegade southbound on Highway 5 on June 12, 2022, when a Laclede County Sheriff’s deputy stopped him for a moving violation, the release says. A K-9 sniffed out drugs in the Jeep, and Hunt allegedly locked the vehicle and refused to give officers the keys, the release says.

The Jeep was eventually unlocked by a tow company and officers found a gym bag with 300 grams of fentanyl, the release says.