FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
April 29, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONSPIRATOR WHO STOLE MEDICATIONS LEADING TO OVERDOSE DEATH SENTENCED TO OVER NINE YEARS IN PRISON
Increased Penalties Apply to Drug Dealers When Users Overdose;
Third Case of its Kind to be Prosecuted in Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Benson Everett Legg sentenced Luis Reyes-Torres, age 26, of Hagerstown, Maryland, today to 115 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute, and distributing, morphine and methadone, the use of which resulted in the death of Brandon Sgaggero.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Ava Cooper-Davis of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; and Washington County Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore.
“Drug dealers should be on notice that they can be held accountable if anyone dies after taking the drugs that they distribute,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “We are partnering with local law enforcement to charge similar cases because holding illegal drug dealers accountable for drug overdose deaths may save lives.”
“The sentence that Mr. Reyes-Torres received today should send a strong message to other individuals engaged in drug trafficking,” stated Ava Cooper-Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington Division. “Whether the individuals traffic in heroin, cocaine or drugs like methadone and morphine, drug trafficking can have deadly consequences,” stated Cooper-Davis.
According to his guilty plea, in February 2008 Reyes-Torres, then an employee of a nursing home, stole methadone, morphine and other medications which he provided to April Lynn Baker. Baker distributed the methadone and morphine to Ryan Andrew Hartley in exchange for marijuana. On March 1, 2008, Hartley sold a 40-milligram wafer of methadone to Brandon Sgaggero for approximately $40, and 20 milliliters of morphine for approximately $20.
In the morning of March 6, 2008, Brandon Sgaggero was found dead in his apartment. An autopsy revealed that he had died of an overdose of methadone and morphine. Also on March 6, 2008, Hartley sent two text messages to Sgaggero’s phone asking whether Sgaggero wanted any more “shampoo.” The word “shampoo” was used as a code for morphine.
April Lynn Baker and Ryan Andrew Hartley pleaded guilty to their participation in the drug conspiracy and are scheduled to be sentenced on June 20, and July 7, 2011, respectively.
This is the third federal case recently prosecuted in Maryland in which the distribution of drugs resulted in a drug user dying from an overdose. On December 20, 2010 Mark Alan Bryan, age 23, of Maugansville, Maryland, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. In a another unrelated case, Robert Carroll Eichelberger, age 40, of Hagerstown, formerly of Boonsboro, and Kathleen Ann Harris, age 42, of Olney, Maryland, also formerly of Boonsboro, were sentenced in December 2008 to 20 years in prison, and 13 years in prison, respectively.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA and the Washington County Sheriff ‘s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua Kaul and Rob Harding, who prosecuted the case.