Daytona Beach man convicted in fentanyl death of Flagler County man
A Daytona Beach man will be sentenced in September after he was convicted of manslaughter for selling a deadly dose of fentanyl to a Palm Coast man.
A Flagler County jury last week found Jevante Hamilton, 27, guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter in the overdose death of Timothy Davidson.
Hamilton was originally indicted in October 2020 on a charge of first-degree murder by unlawful distribution of a controlled substance.
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Hamilton faces a mandatory 15 years in prison on the manslaughter conviction because he is a prison-release reoffender, according to the State Attorney's Office.
Hamilton could also be sentenced as a habitual felony offender which could double the sentence to 30 years, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
Circuit Judge Christopher France has set sentencing for Sept. 28 at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center in Bunnell.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly thanked the jury and prosecutors.
“As long as I’m sheriff, we will investigate every overdose death as a homicide and we will do everything in our power to make sure drug dealers like Hamilton pay for peddling poison,” Staly stated in the release. “I thank the jury for their service and the State Attorney’s Office for helping us deliver justice to the family in this case.”
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the case on Aug. 24, 2019, when they were called to a house in Palm Coast's C-section about Davidson’s death.
Davidson's father found him shortly before 7 a.m. and began administering CPR. Deputies arrived and took over CPR and also administered NARCAN, which is used to treat overdoses, but it had no effect, a report stated. When paramedics arrived, they took over life-saving efforts but were unable to revive Davidson.
Detectives found a white powdery substance determined to be fentanyl and drug paraphernalia on the scene, a release stated. They determined that Hamilton had sold the drugs to Davidson, according to the press release.
Detectives arrested Hamilton on the day of Davidson's death and charged him with possession of fentanyl with intent to sell. Hamilton has been held in the Flagler County jail since then.
He still faces several drug-related charges in Volusia and Flagler counties, according to the release.
Hamilton was sentenced in Volusia County in 2016 to three years in prison for sale of heroin within 1,000 feet of a park. He received credit for time served, and he was released on probation May 18, 2019.
The Flagler County arrest resulted in Hamilton being charged with violating his probation; he will be sentenced for that violation on Sept. 22 in Volusia County.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Fentanyl overdose: Daytona dealer convicted in death of Palm Coast man
