A man from Redondo Beach has admitted to selling fentanyl-laced oxycodone pills, which resulted in a fatal overdose. Marcus Michael Takaya Poydras, aged 36, pleaded guilty to the charge of distributing fentanyl that led to death.
The plea agreement reveals that in January 2020, Poydras sold approximately 90 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl to a drug dealer. This dealer then sold 20 of these pills for $340 to a victim at a Marina del Rey mall parking lot. The victim's consumption of the pills resulted in their death.
Poydras also acknowledged possessing narcotics with intent to distribute and having firearms during his drug activities. In July 2020, he possessed cocaine and a .38-caliber revolver with an obliterated serial number obtained from Melvin Ramon Washington, a law enforcement technician formerly employed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD).
Washington, aged 58 and residing in Carson, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in January 2025 after admitting to providing Poydras with the revolver and making false statements to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Washington stopped working at LASD in July 2023.
In addition, Poydras admitted possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute in January 2021 and another firearm—a 9mm-caliber semi-automatic pistol—linked to his drug dealings.
United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer has scheduled Poydras' sentencing hearing for September 8. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and could receive up to life imprisonment. Poydras has been held in federal custody since September 2021.
This case is being investigated by the DEA, LASD, and the Redondo Beach Police Department as part of the DEA’s Overdose Justice Task Force initiative aimed at addressing opioid-related deaths primarily caused by synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The task force collaborates with local law enforcement agencies to determine circumstances leading to potential federal criminal prosecutions against drug traffickers.
Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Castañeda from the Transnational Organized Crime Section is handling this prosecution.