Alleged Local Drug Dealers Charged with Providing Opioids that Led to Fatal Overdoses

         LOS ANGELES — Federal authorities today announced 11 criminal cases against alleged drug dealers who sold or provided narcotics to users who suffered fatal overdoses from opioids such as fentanyl or fentanyl analogues.

       As a result of the operation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, each of the 12 defendants named in the 11 cases is charged with distribution of narcotics resulting in death. If convicted, each defendant would face at least a 20-year mandatory minimum prison sentence and a potential maximum sentence of life without parole in federal prison.

       The cases are the result of investigations by the DEA’s Overdose Justice Task Force, which was created to address opioid-related deaths in the greater Los Angeles area, most of which are caused by the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Under the Overdose Justice program; DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division, DEA agents collaborate with local law enforcement to analyze evidence to determine if there are circumstances that might lead to a federal criminal prosecution, and, if so, proactively target the drug trafficker. Since the start of the Overdose Justice program in 2018, the DEA has worked with an ever-expanding list of local police agencies to obtain approximately one dozen federal indictments that specifically charge death resulting from narcotics trafficking. The 11 cases announced May 13 add to that list of prosecutions. The Task Force is investigating other incidents and expects to file additional criminal cases in federal court.

       Local cases are summarized below.

U.S. v. Fulton

William Vaughn Fulton, 39, of Torrance, was named in a five-count indictment filed May 11,  accusing him of distributing fentanyl that caused two deaths on consecutive days in Redondo Beach hotel rooms. In addition, Fulton is charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and being a felon in possession of ammunition.

The indictment alleges that Fulton distributed fentanyl on October 10, 2020 to a person who died, and the next day he allegedly distributed fentanyl at another hotel where another person died after ingesting the drug. When he was arrested on Oct. 13 by the Redondo Beach Police Department, Fulton allegedly possessed more than two ounces of fentanyl and over 2.5 ounces of methamphetamine. Police also seized two 9mm “ghost guns” and 12 rounds of ammunition Fulton allegedly illegally possessed because, from 2004 through 2017, he previously had been convicted of 24 felony offenses.

       Fulton is in state prison after pleading guilty to related charges. The United States is seeking a writ to bring him into federal custody. 

U.S. v. Wilson

Alexander Declan Bell Wilson, 20, of Rolling Hills, was arrested May 12, after being indicted on May 11 on one count of distributing pills containing fentanyl that led to the death of a 15-year-old boy on May 15, 2020. Law enforcement reviewed Snapchat conversations between the two that show the victim thought he was buying oxycodone, a commonly used and widely abused semi-synthetic opioid.

Wilson is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment May 13.