Pittsburg man gets 5 years for selling fentanyl that killed former classmate

PITTSBURG – An Japanese Contra Costa County man has been sentenced to over 5 years in federal jail for promoting drugs laced with fentanyl that induced the overdose loss of life of a former classmate, federal prosecutors stated.

Northern California U.S. Legal professional Stephanie Hinds’ workplace introduced Monday that 23-year-old Gage Pascoe of Pittsburg obtained a 68 month sentence, together with 5 years of supervised launch. Earlier this yr, Pascoe pleaded responsible to the cost of distributing fentanyl.

Court docket doc stated on the night time of June 16, 2020, the previous classmate got here to Pascoe’s home to purchase oxycodone drugs. He bought her 13 “M30” drugs, which lab assessments later confirmed have been laced with lethal fentanyl.

The following morning, the lady was discovered lifeless in her mattress and the bag containing drugs bought by Pascoe have been present in her room. Prosecutors stated the sufferer was a resident of Walnut Creek and attended the identical highschool as Pascoe.

The federal government’s sentencing memorandum asserted that whereas Pascoe did not deliberately trigger the lady’s loss of life, he “performed Russian roulette” and that the sufferer suffered the deadly penalties of his conduct.

Together with the jail time period and supervised launch, the decide within the case additionally ordered Pascoe to pay restitution to the sufferer’s household for funeral prices.

In line with federal officers, fentanyl has turn out to be the main reason behind drug overdose deaths within the U.S. Counterfeit M30 drugs routinely comprise fentanyl, with 4 out of 10 such drugs probably containing a deadly dose.