Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning sentenced Angelo Dre Clifton, 31, of Columbus, Ohio, to 25 years in prison on Monday for fentanyl distribution that resulted in an overdose death.
According to Clifton’s plea agreement, on June 9, 2019, authorities responded to reports of an unresponsive victim in Boyd County, Kentucky. When law police came, the person was pronounced dead; the cause of death was ultimately identified as a fentanyl overdose.
Law authorities investigated the victim’s phone and discovered messages between her and Clifton regarding the acquisition of controlled narcotics. When Clifton learned of the victim’s death, he told a friend via video message that the deceased overdosed on “[his] dope.” In his plea deal, Clifton also stated that from May 2019 to June 2019, he habitually provided and distributed heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine to people in the Eastern District of Kentucky.
According to federal law, Clifton must serve 85 percent of his jail sentence. After being released from jail, he will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for six years.
Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jim Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division; and Sheriff Jamie Reihs, Boyd County Sheriff’s Office, all announced the sentencing.
The Boyd County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation.
