Lorain Man Sentenced to Six and a Half Years for Drug Trafficking and Firearms Offenses

Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan announced that  Jarvis Burns, Jr., 23, of Lorain, was sentenced on October 27, 2021, by Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr. to 78 months imprisonment after Burns pleaded guilty in June of 2021 to multiple drug trafficking offenses and being a felon in possession of ammunition.                                                                                                                

According to court records, on May 29, 2019, Burns was arrested by the Lorain Police Department and taken to the Lorain City Jail and searched.  During the search, officers observed Burns to be in possession of a bag of suspected drugs.  When confronted, Burns became violent and ripped open multiple bags of crack cocaine, heroin and fentanyl, and began dispersing the drugs around the room and onto police officers.  Following this incident, Burns and the police officers were taken to a local hospital for treatment of exposure to fentanyl. Subsequently,  the Lorain City Jail had to be closed to allow for the Lorain Fire Department HazMat team to decontaminate the area.

Later, in November of 2019, the Elyria Police Department began an investigation into Burns’ drug trafficking activities.  From November of 2019 through January of 2020, law enforcement officials set up a series of controlled buys and, on four separate occasions, Burns sold what was believed to be drugs to a confidential informant.  Burns sold the informant a controlled substance on one instance and non-controlled substances on the other three. 

While law enforcement officials were conducting their investigation, Burns was involved in a shooting incident in the city of Elyria.  On November 25, 2019, the Elyria Police Department was dispatched to a reported shooting on Lake Avenue in Elyria.  Police located six spent shell casings and later identified two vehicles involved in the incident.  An investigation revealed that Burns and another individual were involved in an argument when the other individual hit Burns with a car.  Burns then fired multiple gunshots at the other individual, who was attempting to flee at the time.

Burns is prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition due to previous convictions for drug trafficking in the Lorain County Common Pleas Court. 

This effort was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Lorain Police Department, the Elyria Police Department, and the Lorain County Drug Task Force, with the assistance of the United States Marshal Service.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Kolansky.