Huntington Man Sentenced to More than 12 Years in Prison for Fentanyl Crime

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Christopher D. Spaulding, also known as “Casino,” 32, of Huntington, was sentenced today to 12 years and six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for distribution of fentanyl. Spaulding admitted to providing controlled substances containing fentanyl to two individuals who overdosed, one of them fatally.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 4, 2019, Spaulding was at an Eighth Street bar in Huntington when two individuals, a man and a woman, approached him and asked if he had cocaine for sale. Spaulding accompanied the individuals from the bar to the woman’s vehicle parked outside. Spaulding admitted that while in the vehicle, he distributed a substance containing cocaine and fentanyl to both individuals.

Spaulding further admitted that shortly after the woman nasally inhaled the substance, she began to exhibit signs of an overdose. Spaulding moved her from the driver’s seat of her vehicle to the passenger seat, and drove her vehicle to multiple locations to meet his friends while the woman was overdosing inside the vehicle.

Hours after leaving the bar, Spaulding drove the woman to Cabell Huntington Hospital in her vehicle. She was not responsive or breathing when they reached the hospital, and hospital staff physically removed her from the vehicle. The woman was later pronounced dead by medical staff.

After leaving the woman at the hospital, Spaulding drove her vehicle into Ohio where he dropped off his friends at a hotel. Spauling eventually left the vehicle in Guyandotte, Ohio, placing its keys in the glove compartment.

Spaulding admitted that he later learned that the man he had distributed the controlled substance to that evening had also exhibited signs of an overdose after nasally inhaling the substance. The man received naloxone from Cabell County Emergency Medical Services. He was transported to Cabell Huntington Hospital where he recovered.

Toxicology testing confirmed that the substance distributed by Spaulding to both individuals contained fentanyl and cocaine. Spaulding admitted that the cause of death of the woman was due to alcohol, fentanyl and cocaine intoxication. Spaulding further admitted that she would not have died but for the fentanyl he distributed to her.

Spaulding has a long criminal history that includes 10 prior convictions. At the time of this offense, Spaulding was on parole following his conviction for attempt to commit a felony in Cabell County Circuit Court on June 9, 2017.

“Mr. Spaulding engaged in an inherently dangerous activity at a time when our communities continue to face an opioid epidemic and the devastating loss of life from overdoses,” said United States Attorney Will Thompson. “The defendant not only caused a death by distributing fentanyl, but possibly could have prevented that death had he not failed to obtain professional medical treatment when he became aware the woman was overdosing.”

Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Huntington Police Department and the West Virginia State Police.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Courtney L. Finney and Stephanie Taylor prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:23-cr-18.

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