Cleveland man sentenced to 30 years for selling heroin fentanyl mixture that caused fatal overdose

 Acting United States Attorney Bridget M. Brennan announced today that Kadeem Davis, 31, of Cleveland, was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment by U.S. District Court Judge Sara Lioi. Davis was found guilty after a trial by jury of one count of distribution of fentanyl and heroin, with a sentencing enhancement alleging the sale resulted in death, two counts of use of a communication facility in furtherance of drug trafficking and one count of possession of fentanyl and heroin with intent to distribute.

“Thousands of lives have been lost and an untold amount of pain and suffering has been endured by friends and families in this District and throughout the country as a result of the opioid epidemic,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan.  “Drug dealers who exploit the vulnerabilities that addiction creates should be prepared to serve lengthy prison sentences.”

According to an affidavit in this case, on August 21, 2018, Lakewood police were called to respond to a residence for a report of a male who had overdosed. Police and paramedics found the victim at the scene, unconscious and shallowly breathing. Paramedics administered Narcan, and the victim was transported to the hospital, where he later died.   

Police began an investigation into this incident and recovered suspected heroin and a cell phone in the victim’s room. The suspected heroin later tested positive as a mixture of heroin and fentanyl.  Police examined the victim’s cell phone and located a text message conversation indicative of the victim reaching out to a contact labeled as “Dopeman.” The context of the conversation indicated that ‘Dopeman” had met with the victim and sold him the heroin and fentanyl mixture.

On August 22, police sent a message to “Dopeman” posing as the victim in order to attempt to obtain more narcotics. Police, acting as the victim, requested the same “heroin” as the day before and arranged a meeting at a local Burger King. After confirming that Davis was, in fact, “Dopeman”, he was arrested by police.

Davis was found to be in possession of the cell phone that “Dopeman” was using and a plastic bag containing a purple powder similar to the substance found in the victim’s room. The substance later tested positive for a mixture of heroin and fentanyl. A search warrant was subsequently obtained for Davis’s cell phone records, and he was found to be in close proximity to the victim on the same day and around the same time of the overdose.

This case was investigated by the Lakewood Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin P. Pierce and Segev Phillips.