Chicago man sentenced in Nebraska on cocaine, fentanyl charges

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A Chicago man will spend over seven years in prison after being found in Nebraska with over 10 pounds of fentanyl and cocaine.

Charlie Rea, 31, was sentenced to 75 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute mixtures containing cocaine and another mixture containing fentanyl.

On Jan. 27, 2020, a state trooper pulled over Rea for a traffic violation in Buffalo County, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

During the stop, Rea told the trooper he had a marijuana joint in the vehicle, which led to a search.

Troopers found a secret compartment inside, which held five vacuum-sealed bricks of suspected drugs, officials said.

A lab later confirmed that three of the bricks were cocaine and the other two were fentanyl.

The cocaine bricks weighed about 2.887 kilograms total, and the fentanyl ones weighed 1.99 kilograms, according to officials.

After his prison sentence, Rea will serve a five-year term of supervised release.

There is no parole in the federal system.