United States Drug Enforcement Administration

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A Kansas man was sentenced today to 167 months in federal prison for selling heroin mixed with fentanyl to a man who overdosed and died.

Ramon Strickland, 44, Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of distributing heroin/fentanyl resulting in death.

According to court records, on May 23, 2017, police in Overland Park, Kan., responded to an emergency call from a parent of an overdose victim. A toxicologist determined that the victim died from respiratory distress caused by the effects of heroin and fentanyl in his system. Heroin is now commonly laced with fentanyl to increase the high. Fentanyl is 80 to 100 times more potent than heroin.

Investigators determined that Strickland distributed heroin to the victim on the evening of May 22, 2017.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Kansas City District Office, investigated this case with the Overland Park Police Department.