A Columbus, Ohio resident, Angelo Dre Clifton, aged 31, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday. The sentencing was carried out by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning due to Clifton's involvement in distributing fentanyl, which resulted in an overdose death.
Clifton's plea agreement detailed an incident from June 9, 2019, in Boyd County, Kentucky, where law enforcement responded to a report of an unresponsive individual. The victim was pronounced dead upon arrival, with the cause later determined to be a fentanyl overdose.
Investigations revealed messages on the victim's phone discussing drug transactions with Clifton. After learning about the victim's death, Clifton admitted via video message to a friend that the overdose was due to “[his] dope.” He further acknowledged in his plea agreement that from May 2019 to June 2019, he distributed heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine in the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Clifton is required by federal law to serve 85 percent of his sentence. Following his release, he will be under U.S. Probation Office supervision for six years.
The sentence was jointly announced by 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 from the Boyd County Sheriff’s Office. The DEA and Boyd County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.