Evansville man sentenced in connection with fatal fentanyl overdose
EVANSVILLE — The man accused of selling 24-year-old Zeke Biggs fentanyl prior to his death last year was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison Friday.
Richard Barnes III, 21, pleaded guilty in April to one count of dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, a Level 1 felony. At the time, Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers said Barnes had agreed to accept the "recommended" 20-year prison sentence.
On Friday, Vanderburgh County Magistrate Judge Ryan C. Reed imposed that sentence and recommended Barnes "participate in programming while at the Indiana Department of Corrections."
Barnes will begin his sentence with 297 days credit for time served.
More: Evansville man accused of causing fatal overdose pleads guilty
According to court records, Evansville police arrested Barnes May 10, 2022, after detectives uncovered evidence Barnes sold Biggs fentanyl prior to Biggs' death.
The investigation began months earlier, on March 5, 2022, when Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office deputies found Biggs dead from an apparent drug overdose in the 1800 block of Evanston Drive.
Subsequent toxicology tests would show Biggs died from fentanyl intoxication, a probable cause affidavit states.
According to investigators, Biggs' cellphone proved to offer crucial evidence linking Barnes to Biggs' fatal overdose. The data included text and call logs and cell tower location data, and also included a contact card for one of Barnes' known aliases, "Sosa."
More: Evansville man charged with causing deadly fentanyl overdose
Text messages between the Sosa alias and Biggs show the two men discussing the sale of fentanyl prior to Biggs' overdose, police said.
Police subsequently placed Barnes under surveillance and allegedly confiscated counterfeit prescription opioid pills from vehicles seen leaving his residence.
A search of Barnes' home by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in May 2022 turned up "three clear plastic baggies containing numerous counterfeit pharmaceutical pills," the affidavit states.
The Whites, Part 7: Alabama fugitive saga put some Evansville residents in the spotlight
Biggs is one of at least 480 people to have died from a drug overdose in Vanderburgh County since 2016, according to coroner's office data obtained by the Courier & Press.
The data show that over the past seven years, fentanyl drove a steady increase in the number of fatal overdoses in the Evansville area.
At the outset of her tenure as Vanderburgh County prosecutor, Moers said she would prioritize prosecuting alleged fentanyl dealers who's drugs resulted in fatal overdoses.
After Barnes agreed to plead guilty in April, Moers doubled down on her stance: "I can assure you, dealing drugs in Vanderburgh County is not worth the price you will pay," she wrote in a news release.
Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Richard Barnes III sentenced for causing Evansville fentanyl overdose
