Local convicted felon sentenced to 16 years for fentanyl, gun offenses

JACKSON, Tenn. — On Monday, May 8, 2023, officers with the Jackson Police Department received alerts that a white Dodge Durango believed to be driven by Colton Wayne Anglin of McNairy County had passed by several traffic cameras in the area.

Anglin, then aged twenty–five (25), was wanted by law enforcement because he had outstanding criminal warrants against him. Three patrol officers located Anglin, driving the Durango, in the drive–thru lane at Wendy’s on Vann Drive in Jackson. In an attempt to arrest Anglin, officers surrounded the vehicle with their patrol cars and approached the Durango. When officers gave verbal commands to Anglin to exit the vehicle, Anglin instead attempted to escape by ramming the vehicle in line in front of him, simultaneously striking a patrol car and nearly hitting an officer. He placed the vehicle in reverse as though to perform the maneuver again, narrowly missing two additional officers. One officer shot the front tire of the Durango, disabling the vehicle and allowing Anglin to be arrested without further incident. 

SEE ALSO: Officer-involved shooting takes place at Wendy’s in Jackson (05/08/23)

After officers arrested Anglin, investigators searched the vehicle. Investigators seized a .22 caliber handgun with a magazine and approximately 375 fentanyl pills. Anglin, a convicted felon with 2019 convictions for Possession of a Schedule VI Controlled Substance with Intent to Sell and/or Deliver, Aggravated Burglary, and Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Sell and/or Deliver, was prohibited from possessing any firearm. 

Based on Anglin’s actions on May 8 and the evidence seized in the vehicle, the October 2023 Madison County Grand Jury indicted Anglin for five (5) counts of Aggravated Assault, Felony Reckless Endangerment, Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Sell and/or Deliver, two (2) counts of Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Dangerous Felony, and three (3) counts of being a Convicted Felon in Possession of a Weapon/Firearm. 

On November 18, 2024, Anglin entered guilty pleas in Division I of the Madison County Circuit Court before the Honorable Joseph Howell. Assistant District Attorney General Michelle Pugh represented the State in the prosecution. Anglin pled guilty as charged to the fentanyl and gun charges and to the amended charges of Reckless Endangerment. As a result of the plea, he will serve sixteen (16) years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. By operation of law, he will serve three (3) years at 100%, one (1) year at 35%, and twelve (12) years at 85% before being eligible for parole. 

“This defendant, at twenty–five (25) years old, had three separate opportunities to change the course of his life. Mr. Anglin instead chose to continue in the enterprise of selling dangerous drugs while carrying guns,” said District Attorney General Jody Pickens. “The fentanyl crisis in this county and state is an epidemic. Thousands of Tennesseans have lost their lives due to drug overdoses, and the majority of those are a result of fentanyl. The quick response of the Jackson Police Department and the Major Crimes Unit in arresting this defendant saved countless lives.” 

For more local crime stories, click here.