33-year-old man sentenced to 228 months in federal prison for possession of fentanyl, other drugs, guns in prison

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A Baton Rouge man has been sentenced to 228 months in federal prison for possession of fentanyl, heroin, and possession of a firearm while in prison according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to DOJ, Ashton Matta, 33, is a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, possession with the intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of contraband in prison. The court further sentenced Matta to serve four years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment and ordered that the firearm involved be forfeited.

In June 2019 as part of his guilty plea, Matta’s residence and vehicle were searched by the East Baton Rouge Sherriff’s Office and Louisiana Probation and Parole. Inside the residence, law enforcement found 130.4 grams of fentanyl and $34,650. Inside the vehicle 459.1 grams of heroin, 2.83 grams of fentanyl, a Zastava Serbia 7.62 caliber pistol, and a drum magazine with 70 live rounds of 7.62 ammunition were found.

Matta admitted to possessing the items and his involvement in selling and purchasing illegal narcotics. Before possessing the firearm, Matta was convicted in East Baton Rouge Parish in 2018 of attempted possession of oxycodone.

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