Drug Dealer Sentenced to 24 Years in Federal Prison for Selling Heroin that Killed Hoover Man

BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a Birmingham man to 24 years and four months in prison on charges that included selling heroin that caused the death of a 22-year-old Hoover man, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.

U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre sentenced EDWARD LEE HENDERSON JR., 31, for selling heroin on Dec. 30, 2016, that caused the Hoover man’s death. The young man’s father found his son unresponsive in the parking lot of a Hoover business on Jan. 2, 2017.  Forensic medical examination concluded the man would not have died “but for the heroin” found in his system.

Judge Bowdre also sentenced Henderson for distributing heroin and cocaine and for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Henderson, also known as Hot Boi Eddy, pleaded guilty to the charges in April.

“Overdoses from heroin and other opioids killed more people in America in 2017 than either car crashes or guns,” Town said. “This defendant pushed his deadly poison hard. My office and our law enforcement partners are deep into the fight against the country’s opioid epidemic. Drug dealers should be getting the message that if they cause an overdose death, they will spend time, possibly the rest of their lives, in federal prison.”  

“The successful prosecution of Edward Lee Henderson should put others who engage in this type of activity on notice: if you sell drugs, and that drug causes a death, you will face federal charges and a lengthy prison sentence,” Hamilton said. “This ‘career offender’s’ sentence in federal prison sends a message of our unending resolve to pursue drug traffickers who wreak havoc in our communities.”

According to evidence presented in court, the overdose victim was a heroin addict who checked himself out of a rehabilitation facility in Bessemer on Dec. 7, 2016. On Dec. 30, 2016, he traveled to Birmingham to buy heroin from Henderson, whose number was saved in the victim’s cell phone as Hot Boi Eddy.

Investigators found text messages to and from Henderson on the victim’s phone discussing the potential sell of heroin between Dec. 24, 2016, and Dec. 27, 2016, according to evidence in court. One of the texts from Henderson said: “Christmas Eve deals goin today but deals only start when u get 3 or[sic] them today!”

A Christmas Eve text from the victim to a friend asked the friend to call 911 if he had not heard back from him in 15 or 20 minutes. The victim gave his friend an address for his location. The address was Henderson’s residence, according to evidence.

About a month after the victim’s overdose death, a Birmingham Police detective began making undercover drug buys from Henderson, according to evidence. The officer bought heroin from Henderson three times that February. In May 2017, the undercover bought heroin and cocaine from Henderson.

On July 4, 2017, when Birmingham Police stopped Henderson riding an all-terrain vehicle on Sixth Avenue South, he had a Smith & Wesson pistol in his waistband. Henderson had a previous felony conviction in Jefferson County Circuit Court in April 2012 for discharging a firearm into an occupied building, and an October 2010 conviction in Jefferson County District Court for unlawful possession of a controlled substance, according to court records.

DEA investigated the case in conjunction with the Birmingham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory R. Dimler prosecuted the case.