The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the conviction and 480-month prison sentence of Eugene Laron Fishback, who operated a large-scale fentanyl distribution operation in eastern Kentucky for several years.
Fishback purchased over 150,000 fentanyl-laced pills from his primary supplier, Christopher Smith, and resold them for profit across eastern Kentucky. The operation ran from 2019 through the time of his arrest, with Fishback acquiring pills from Smith at least every other day.
According to court records, Fishback's first transaction involved the purchase of 5,000 pills. The scale of his operation grew significantly over time, with Fishback sometimes purchasing up to 10,000 pills in a single transaction. The consistent frequency and increasing volume of these purchases demonstrated the substantial scope of his drug trafficking enterprise.
Federal law enforcement uncovered the operation through searches of items and premises connected to Fishback. These searches revealed large quantities of drugs and a cache of weapons, providing evidence of the defendant's extensive criminal enterprise. The discoveries led a grand jury to indict Fishback on various drug distribution counts.
At trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, a federal jury convicted Fishback of all charges against him. The district court subsequently sentenced him to 480 months in prison, which amounts to 40 years behind bars.
Fishback appealed his conviction and sentence to the Sixth Circuit, mounting challenges on multiple fronts. He argued that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions on the drug distribution charges. Additionally, he contested the district court's application of four separate provisions of the federal Sentencing Guidelines that were used in calculating his prison term.
In an opinion filed Jan. 30, 2026, a three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit rejected all of Fishback's arguments. Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Hermandorfer wrote the opinion, joined by Circuit Judges Danny J. Boggs and Amul Thapar. The court found that Fishback's sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenges lacked merit.
The appeals court also upheld the district court's sentencing decisions, finding that all four disputed Sentencing Guidelines provisions were properly applied to Fishback's case. The court concluded that the 40-year sentence was appropriate given the scope and duration of Fishback's drug trafficking operation.
Fishback's case represents part of the federal government's ongoing efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis that has devastated communities across the United States. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is significantly more potent than heroin, has become a primary driver of overdose deaths nationwide.
The Eastern District of Kentucky has seen numerous fentanyl-related prosecutions as federal authorities work to dismantle distribution networks that supply the deadly drug throughout Appalachian communities. Kentucky has been particularly hard hit by the opioid crisis, with fentanyl contributing to thousands of overdose deaths across the state.
The volume of pills involved in Fishback's operation - over 150,000 - represents a substantial quantity that could have caused significant harm in eastern Kentucky communities. Each pill contained fentanyl, which can be lethal in extremely small doses and has contributed to the sharp increase in overdose fatalities in recent years.
Fishback's 40-year sentence reflects the serious penalties that federal courts are imposing on high-level drug traffickers, particularly those dealing in fentanyl. The length of the sentence demonstrates how the federal justice system is responding to the fentanyl epidemic with substantial prison terms designed to incapacitate major distributors and deter others from engaging in similar crimes.
The Sixth Circuit's affirmance means Fishback has exhausted his appellate options at the circuit court level. His only remaining avenue would be to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for review, though the high court accepts very few criminal cases for consideration.
The opinion was marked as not recommended for publication, meaning it will not serve as binding precedent for future cases. However, it reflects the consistent approach that federal appellate courts are taking in upholding substantial sentences for large-scale fentanyl distribution operations.
Fishback's co-conspirator Christopher Smith, who served as his primary supplier, was not mentioned as a defendant in this appeal, suggesting his case may have been resolved separately through the federal court system.
The case demonstrates the multi-year investigations that federal law enforcement agencies undertake to build comprehensive cases against drug trafficking organizations, often resulting in the seizure of substantial quantities of drugs and weapons that would otherwise reach communities already struggling with addiction and overdose deaths.