Denver Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Federal Prison For Illegal Firearm Possession and Methamphetamine Distribution Crimes

DENVER – Dillon James Goff, age 32, of Denver, was sentenced late last week by U.S. District Court Judge Philip A. Brimmer to serve 18 years (216 months) in federal prison for firearms violations and methamphetamine trafficking, Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Ken Croke announced.  Following his prison sentence, Goff was ordered to serve 5 years on supervised release.  The defendant, who appeared at the sentencing hearing in custody, was remanded at its conclusion.

Goff was first charged by Criminal Complaint on September 18, 2015.  He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on October 19, 2015.  He pled guilty before Judge Brimmer on June 9, 2016 to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.  He was sentenced on September 16, 2016.

According to court documents, including the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on September 16, 2015, at noon, Denver Police officer Tony Lopez, Jr. conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle being driven by Goff.  Officer Lopez noticed Goff acting suspiciously, and then after learning his name, remembered a fellow detective providing information that Goff is known to traffic drugs and carry firearms.  After clearing Goff’s name, a warrant for his arrest came up.  As a result, the DPD Officer Lopez took Goff into custody.  During the search of the defendant, incident-to-arrest, Officer Lopez found $3,953 in cash and a drug ledger in his pockets.

Because of the condition and location of the vehicle, a Denver Police officer ordered that it be impounded.  A lawful search of the vehicle then revealed a .380 caliber pistol under the driver’s seat, a black backpack in the rear seat of the car that contained 1,599 grams of 100 percent pure methamphetamine and a 9 mm pistol.  A gray backpack was also located, and it contained another 125.5 grams of 97 percent pure methamphetamine, 84.7 grams of heroin, 10 grams of cocaine, and psilocybin mushrooms.  Also, officers found a card/ID printer, another $516 in cash and a ballistic vest, all inside the car.  In total, the defendant knowingly possessed at least 500 grams of actual methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.  Goff, a convicted felon, also knowingly possessed two firearms, both of which were possessed in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime.

Goff has prior felony convictions, including a 2003 conviction in Jefferson County for distribution of a Schedule II controlled substance.  In August 2006 his probation on that charge was revoked, and he served six years in the state Department of Corrections.  In November 2006 he was charged in Jefferson County with controlled substance special offender deadly weapon and possession with intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance.  For those crimes he was sentenced to serve 15 years in the state Department of Corrections, although he only served 10 years after completion of state-run “Boot Camp.”

“Thanks to the outstanding police work of Officer Tony Lopez, Jr., and the Denver Police Department in concert with the ATF, an armed drug dealer will spend his next 18 years in federal prison – and there is no possibility of parole this time,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer.

“Denver is cleaner and safer with an established drug dealer like Goff behind bars for the next 18 years,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Ken Croke. “This sentence illustrates how the valuable partnership between ATF, Denver PD and the U.S. Attorney’s Office can noticeably improve our community.”

This case was investigated by the ATF and the Denver Police Department as part of Denver’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center.

Denver’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center uses cutting-edge technology and a dedicated investigative team to stop shooters and identify their source of crime guns before they can commit further criminal acts.  This is a partnership between ATF, DenverPolice Department, Aurora Police Department, Lakewood Police Department, the District Attorney’s Offices for Denver, Arapahoe, Adams and Jefferson Counties, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.

This defendant was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebecca Weber and Edwin Garreth Winstead, III.