Vero Beach man ordered to prison for selling fentanyl to his barber who later died
FORT PIERCE — A Vero Beach man convicted of providing fentanyl to a 35-year-old man who later was found dead, was ordered to serve 20 years in federal prison, court records show.
Keyon Jaylon Lewis, 27, of the 9100 block of 107th Court, was also ordered Thursday to serve four years of federal supervision after his prison release and he must pay $10,777 in restitution, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon ruled during a one-hour hearing.
In February, Lewis pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl, “the use of which resulted in another person’s death.” He admitted to selling fentanyl to Donald Tyler Christy, of Vero Beach, who on Nov. 7, 2021 was found dead by his wife inside their Vero Beach home.
Near Christy’s body detectives found a “light brown powdery substance in a plastic baggie, syringe, and spoon on the kitchen counter,” federal records show.
The powdery substance tested positive for “among other things, fentanyl.”
According to a federal indictment, the fentanyl Lewis distributed to Christy killed him.
Fatal overdose
After Indian River County Sheriff’s deputies were summoned to Christy’s home around 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2021 and confirmed he was dead, they used his cellphone to order more fentanyl from Lewis, arrest records show.
Text messages showed Lewis and Christy had been discussing drugs in the days leading up to his death.
Lewis, unaware that he was communicating directly with law enforcement, arrived at Christy’s residence, bringing additional fentanyl to distribute, according to state court records.
Deputies immediately arrested Lewis and initially charged him with possession with intent to sell or deliver fentanyl.
Court records show two days before Christy’s death, he’d met a coworker at an Applebee’s in Vero Beach. He was video recorded meeting someone in the restaurant’s parking lot who drove a Chevrolet truck like the one Lewis owned.
Investigators also found text messages between Christy and Lewis sent while Christy was at Applebee’s, records noted.
Christy’s wife told investigators she had been out of town for two days before returning home to find her husband deceased in their kitchen.
Christy, she reported, had struggled with drug addiction and had overdosed in the past.
Federal plea deal
After being indicted last year by a federal grand jury, Lewis cut a deal with federal prosecutors that required he plead guilty to one drug offense and in exchange, one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance was dropped.
In court papers filed by defense lawyer Assistant Federal Public Defender Kafahni Nkrumah, Lewis called Christy “a cool dude,” who was his barber and a friend.
“I am extremely sorry, I never meant for anyone to die, and I apologize to his family, my family and the community for my role in this tragedy,” Lewis stated in a sentencing memo. “This is something that I will have to live with for the rest of my life.”
Nkrumah in court papers noted Lewis was born addicted to cocaine to a single mother and displayed behavioral trouble in school. He was diagnosed as having a bipolar disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. ODD is a childhood mental health condition that includes frequent and persistent anger, irritability, arguing, defiance or vindictiveness toward parents and other authority figures, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Lewis is “very remorseful that his actions contributed to a loss of life,” Nkrumah wrote.
Both sides urged Cannon to impose a 20-year sentence, but Lewis had faced up to life in prison, records show.
Reached Thursday after court, Nkrumah declined to comment.
In court papers filed ahead of sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter called fentanyl “a deadly poison that does not discriminate.”
“If there is ever any progress to be made stopping the unlawful distribution of dangerous and illicit substances, those who traffic in them, such as Lewis, must be held accountable for their actions,” Porter wrote.
Had there been a trial, Porter was expected to question a toxicology expert who would testify that “but for the ingestion of fentanyl … and the acute intoxication that ensued,” Christy “would not have died.”
Porter too, argued that Lewis’ troubled upbringing doesn’t negate the “gravity of the harm” he caused by providing the lethal drug to Christy.
Christy “left behind a loving family, including a wife who still grieves the loss of her husband,” Porter noted.
Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers on Thursday said at a recent event he spoke with Christy’s widow.
“He was a guy struggling with addiction, gone too soon,” Flowers said. “I’m glad we were able to seek justice for her in this case. It is a reminder that every single overdose case leaves behind a family, children, and real people in our community without their loved ones.”
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Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of "Uncertain Terms," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com. If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Vero Beach drug dealer gets 20 years in 2021 fatal fentanyl overdose
