United States Drug Enforcement Administration

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Richard Mansfield, a Harrisonburg man who was previously convicted of distributing a fatal mixture of heroin and fentanyl, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg to nine years in prison, United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen announced.

Mansfield, 39, pleaded guilty in September 2018 to one count of distributing a mixture and substance containing heroin and fentanyl.

According to evidence presented to the court by Assistant United States Attorney Jeb Terrien, on Dec. 12, 2017, Mansfield sold a mixture of heroin and fentanyl to Matthew Jason Murphy. The following day, Dec. 13, 2017, Murphy was found deceased following a drug overdose. A medical examination and toxicology analysis determined that Murphy died from fentanyl and heroin intoxication.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Field Division, Virginia State Police, and Harrisonburg Police Department, with the assistance of Rockingham County Commonwealth’s Attorney Marsha L. Garst. Assistant United States Attorney Jeb Terrien prosecuted the case for the United States.

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