FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – A Fort Wayne man was sentenced Wednesday to more than 18 years in prison for drug and firearm offenses.

A U.S. District Court Chief Judge sentenced 42-year-old Joshua R. Letner to 220 months behind bars followed by five years of supervised release. Letner pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Officers determined Letner was distributing controlled substances, including more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, between March 2020 and October 2021. Already a convicted felon, Letner could not legally possess a firearm, and he was found to have one in connection with the drug trafficking, the release said. 

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Fort Wayne Police Department and the New Haven Police Department.