FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – A 24-year-old Fort Wayne man who police caught with a batch of fentanyl pills was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison Thursday, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.

Airon L. Mitchell previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

In August 2021, Fort Wayne police officers were looking for Mitchell on an outstanding warrant. They watched him get into a vehicle while holding a bag which he dropped in the center console, according to U.S. District Court documents.

When officers searched the bag, they discovered 195 blue fentanyl pills.

A search of Mitchell’s home turned up 193.8 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, a loaded 9-milimeter handgun he was barred for owning due to a previous felony conviction as well as a loaded 50-round drum magazine of ammunition, court documents said.

The case was handled by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with help from Fort Wayne Police and the Indiana State Police Laboratory Division.