News
Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22, 2007
Detroit
Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Fentanyl-Laced Heroin Deaths
FEB 22 --
James Edgar Coleman, 36, of Detroit, was sentenced today to 30 years
in prison as a result of his guilty plea to a superseding information
charging him with two counts of delivering a controlled substance resulting
in death, United States Attorney Stephen J. Murphy announced today.
Murphy was joined
in the announcement by Robert Corso , Special Agent in Charge of the
DEA, Detroit, as well as Oakland County Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard.
Coleman received the sentence from United States District Judge Lawrence
P. Zatkoff, in U.S. District Court in Port Huron, Michigan. The judge
sentenced Coleman to the maximum statutory penalty.
At the time of his
plea, Coleman admitted to the Court that he had sold heroin mixed with
fentanyl from a home on Keating St. in the City of Detroit. Coleman
stated that the controlled substance that he sold had been acquired
by two individuals, who ingested the drug and died as a result. Coleman’s
guilty plea was the first to specifically address the spate of deaths
from overdoses of heroin laced with fentanyl, which occurred earlier
this year in Detroit and other urban areas throughout the United States.
United States Attorney
Stephen J. Murphy said, "All illegal drugs are dangerous. In this
case the danger was so great it caused the immediate deaths of two
people in our community. This significant sentence is the result of
a robust federal response to the rash of overdose deaths caused by
fentanyl-laced heroin, and would not have been successful without the
excellent investigative work by the DEA and the Oakland County Narcotics
Enforcement Team."
SAC Corso said, “This
investigation exemplifies the outstanding results that can be achieved
by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies working together
and combining their respective resources. Today’s sentencing
reflects a “substantial sentence for a substantial violator”.
This sentence should serve as a message to drug vendors throughout
the metro Detroit area– deal at your own peril. If we can establish
that your drugs caused someone’s death, you will pay a severe
and certain penalty for that activity.”
The investigation
of this case has been conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration,
the Oakland County Narcotics Enforcement Team, and by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Kathryn McCarthy. |