Two Overdose Deaths - Dover Man Charged

WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that on December 4, 2018, Quaheem Hall of Dover, Delaware, was charged by superseding indictment with distributing fentanyl that resulted in the deaths of two people within a span of five days in January 2017.  Hall was also charged with distributing heroin five times between August and September 2017, and possessing heroin in October 2017.  The distribution charges that led to the deaths of two individuals carry a mandatory minimum penalty of twenty years each, with a maximum of life imprisonment.  The remainder of the drug charges carry a penalty of up to twenty years of imprisonment. 

This case exemplifies the dangers presented by fentanyl, which is substantially stronger than heroin and is often mixed with heroin or substituted for heroin.  In 2017, more than 72,000 people nationwide died as a result of the opioid epidemic.  The victims in this case were two of 345 people to die of overdoses in the State of Delaware in 2017. 

U.S. Attorney Weiss said, “Knowingly distributing fentanyl is akin to committing a crime of violence.  This office will continue to work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to disrupt the flow of heroin and illegal opioid drugs into our communities.”

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the Dover Police Department and the Delaware State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer K. Welsh and Laura D. Hatcher are prosecuting this case.

A superseding indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.