Man Sentenced to 8 Years After Selling Fentanyl Cocaine at Mohegan Sun

A man responsible for an overdose at a Connecticut casino that claimed the life of a young victim was recently sentenced to nearly a decade behind bars.

Drug Dealer Goes to Prison After Young Casino Patron’s Death

The criminal case involved a 44-year-old New Haven resident identified with the initials J.S. This week, the US Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Vanessa Roberts Avery, confirmed that District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer imposed the sentence against the man, who was found guilty of drug distribution.

Judge Meyer sentenced the 44-year-old man, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of a controlled substance and two counts of possession, to a total of 96 months or eight years in prison. In addition to the prison sentence, the New Haven resident was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.

The latest sentencing comes after an investigation that was jointly completed by the Mohegan Tribal Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Assistant US Attorneys Ross Weingarten and Christopher Schmeisser prosecuted the case against the 44-year-old culprit.

The investigation tied the New Haven resident to the death of a 22-year-old patron at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. The 44-year-old man sold cocaine laced with fentanyl to the young casino patron. Subsequently, the 22-year-old man passed out from an overdose. Then, 11 days later, the young man passed away in hospital.

Deadly Fentanyl

Fentanyl has gained notoriety over the years, and this is not because it is a preferred drug by many people but rather because dealers often use it as an addition to unlawful substances. Ultimately, drug dealers played a key role in the spreading of the highly addictive and potent opioid in combination with other drugs.

Generally speaking, fentanyl is a controlled substance that may be prescribed for medical reasons, and it is used as an analgesic. Patients who receive fentanyl usually have undergone or are going through recovery from painful surgeries.

As a powerful synthetic opioid, fentanyl is known to be between 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. This otherwise means that the drug is deadly when used in high dosage or when administered by non-medical personnel.

To Catch the Drug Dealer, Police Went Undercover

Used by dealers to increase the potency or effect of other drugs, and primarily because it is cheap and highly addictive, fentanyl has caused thousands upon thousands of deaths and continues to claim the lives of people across the country. Such was also the case for the 22-year-old man who overdosed on the casino floor at the Mohegan Sun after the 44-year-old man sold him cocaine laced with fentanyl.

The incident dated back to May 18, 2021, when the culprit sold the young man the substance. Later on the same night after ingesting the drugs, the young man stumbled on the casino floor. Despite the efforts of paramedics and the young man’s admission to hospital, he passed away.

Law enforcement conducted an investigation and went undercover to purchase drugs from the 44-year-old culprit. After making a “controlled purchase” of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine from the man, police arrested him near the end of March last year.