Judge sentences fentanyl dealer to 6 years for providing drug that led to fatal overdose
MONTEREY – A judge sentenced a convicted drug dealer to six years and three months in prison Monday for selling fentanyl that led to the fatal overdose of someone in 2019, according to the Department of Justice.
Matthew Sanchez, 27, pleaded guilty in June to two charges -- conspiracy to distribute alprazolam and fentanyl and with the distribution of fentanyl -- and admitted selling fentanyl to a fellow Monterey County resident who then died after taking the drug, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds.
Sanchez admitted to selling drugs between June 2018 and October 2019, including after learning of the victim's death.
Sanchez's co-defendant, Francisco Javier Schraidt Rodriguez, a former Mexican pharmacy employee, was also convicted of distributing the fentanyl-laced pills that killed the Monterey County victim and was earlier sentenced to 90 months in prison.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila ordered Sanchez to serve three years of supervision following release from federal prison. Sanchez will surrender on Feb. 8, 2023, to begin serving his sentence, according to the announcement.