Phoenix Sentenced To Prison For Selling Fentanyl That Killed County Inmate
Monday, November 11, 2024, 12:00 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
GRAND JUNCTION, CO.- On Thursday, November 7, 2024, Jeremiah Robinson, 44, of Phoenix, Arizona, appeared in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Gordon P. Gallagher to 235 months in federal prison to be followed by four years of supervised release for his previously entered guilty plea to one count of Conspiracy to Distribute 40 Grams or More of Fentanyl.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Matt Kirsch and documents filed with the court, Robinson, a known longtime drug dealer and six-time convicted felon operating throughout the Phoenix area. Prior to May 2022, Robinson had repeatedly sold illicit narcotics to Efrain Velez, a drug dealer who traveled from Mesa County, Colorado, to purchase from Robinson.
On May 7, 2022, Robison sold bulk fentanyl and methamphetamine to Velez and two of his associates, Vanessa Vasquez and Anna Munday, in Phoenix, Arizona.
As the three made their way back to Mesa County, Police Officers stopped their vehicle and discovered the drugs. During the traffic stop, Velez and Vasquez hid drugs on their persons and smuggled them into the Mesa County Detention Facility. Once inside the jail, Munday and Vasquez further distributed the drugs to various inmates.
Inmate Dies From Taking Counterfeit Pill
On May 20, 2022, Karlie Locke gave one of the counterfeit laced fentanyl pills that had been purchased from Robinson to another inmate, who later died of fentanyl intoxication.
The four other conspirators in this case have been separately charged with fentanyl distribution, resulting in death in a separate criminal case. Vannessa Vasquez has been sentenced to nine years of imprisonment, and Karlie Locke has been sentenced to ten years in prison. Anna Munday and Efrain Velez are awaiting sentencing in this case.
“Jeremiah Robinson valued the profit from his drug trade over the lives of his customers,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matt Kirsch. “Wherever you operate, if you sell drugs that make their way into Colorado, our office will find you and hold you accountable.”
