An eastern Kentucky man with 30 prior convictions has been sentenced to life in federal prison for distributing fentanyl to a person who later died after overdosing on the deadly opioid.
Justin Bryant, 38, of Shelbiana (Pike Co.), was sentenced in federal court last week after being found guilty of distributing fentanyl, which caused the death of a victim, and for conspiring with others to distribute heroin and fentanyl, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Bryant was convicted by a federal jury in October 2022.
According to evidence presented at trial, “on October 12, 2021, Bryant smuggled drugs into the Pike County Detention Center and distributed them,” prosecutors said. The drugs contained fentanyl and their use resulted in the death of another individual in the jail.
At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Robert Wier made a finding that there was reliable evidence connecting Bryant to another overdose death in August 2021.
The evidence also documented that, even after the overdose death of the victim on October 12, 2021, Pike County Detention Center staff and the Pikeville Police Department prevented Bryant from attempting to bring drugs into the jail on two additional occasions.
“The conviction in this case is the most recent of 30 prior criminal convictions, which Bryant has received over the past 20 years,” prosecutors said.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA and the Pikeville Police Department.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
