United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SAN DIEGO - Jaimee Ashley Koryn was sentenced in federal court today to 130 months in prison for selling the fentanyl pills that resulted in the fatal overdose of 23-year-old Sherie Gil on September 30, 2021. Koryn pleaded guilty in October 2022, admitting that she sold Gil the fentanyl pills that caused her death.

According to the government’s sentencing memo, on the morning of September 30, 2021, law enforcement officials and paramedics responded to a 911 call from a commercial office building in San Diego, California. Law enforcement found Gil deceased in a bathroom along with drug paraphernalia, Gil’s cell phone, and “blues,” or fake oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. The Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that Gil had died as the result of the “toxic effects of fentanyl, cocaine, and alprazolam.”

During a search of Gil’s cell phone, agents discovered that Gil had exchanged text messages with another phone number asking if she could “pick up” blues on a number of occasions in the days leading up to Gil’s death. During the investigation that followed, law enforcement discovered that the other phone number was registered to Koryn. The text messages also indicated that, on September 29, 2021, Gil again messaged Koryn requesting blues; Koryn sent Gil her address and Gil then responded that she was seven minutes away.

On October 8, 2021, during the execution of a search warrant at Koryn’s residence, law enforcement located and arrested Koryn.

Per the plea agreement, Koryn and the government stipulated that the Sentencing Guidelines for distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death and/or serious bodily injury would apply.

“Fentanyl continues to destroy lives in San Diego,” said Special Agent in Charge Shelly Howe. “The DEA and its partners will continue to vigorously pursue the people that deal this poison and bring them to justice.”

“The loss of yet another young life serves as a reminder of the ongoing devastation inflicted by fentanyl counterfeit pills,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “This office remains dedicated to pursuing individuals who seek to profit from the trade of fentanyl in all its deadly forms. Those who contribute to the tragic loss of life caused by overdose will be held accountable to the full extent of federal prosecution.”

“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prioritize our efforts and resources toward combatting this fentanyl crisis,” said Special Agent in Charge, Chad Plantz, HSI San Diego. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates that those who deliberately push deadly fentanyl into our communities will be held responsible.”

Special Agents and Task Force Officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Overdose Response Team (formerly known as Team 10) led the investigation into Gil’s death. This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Diego Police Department, and the California Department of Health Care Services to investigate and prosecute the distribution of dangerous illegal drugs—fentanyl in particular—that result in overdose deaths. In 2018, the Drug Enforcement Administration created the Overdose Response Team as a response to the increase in overdose deaths in San Diego County.

AGENCIES

Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Attorney’s Office; Federal Bureau of Investigation; San Diego Police Department; California Department of Health Care Services; San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

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