Lompoc man sentenced to 240 months after distributing fentanyl that caused a death Friday

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – On Friday, Kaelen Jacobkeali Wendel of Lompoc was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison for distributing fentanyl while an inmate at Santa Barbara County Jail which resulted in the death of one fellow inmate and serious injuries to another.

Wendel was previously convicted of one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and serious bodily injury following a five-day trial on Mar. 1 of this year.

In October of 2022, Wendel used candy containers to smuggle fentanyl into a unit of the Northern Branch Jail in Santa Barbara County shared the Department of Justice in a press release about the sentencing.

According to the Department of Justice, Wendel gave some fentanyl to his co-defendant, Micheal Villapania of Lompoc, expecting to receive jail commissary goods in exchange.

Villapania then sold the fentanyl to a fellow inmate, identified in court documents as "J.V" who then shared the synthetic opioid with another inmate, identified in court documents as "E.E." detailed the Department of Justice.

After E.E. and J.V. ingested the fentanyl in the early morning hours of Oct. 20, 2022, both began to overdose stated the Department of Justice.

After an inmate alerted a custody deputy about the overdoses, deputies and nurses administered multiple doses of Narcan and performed CPR on both inmates explained the Department of Justice.

J.V. was successfully revived, but E.E. died as a result of the overdose stated the Department of Justice.

Villapania pled guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl on Feb. 1 of this year and was sentenced on Jun. 10 to seven years in federal prison shared the Department of Justice.

"[Wendel] committed a serious offense that ended in a tragedy," stated prosecutors in a sentencing memorandum. "He smuggled fentanyl into a jail unit, killing E.E. and nearly killing J.V. He created a market for fentanyl where there was none."

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