Man who sold falsely labeled drug that lead to death sentenced to 16 years

Evidence presented in court that a dose of suspected fentanyl, sold and stamped as oxycodone, was distributed to someone who then overdosed and died led to a judge’s decision this month to sentence the alleged seller with a sentence above the state guidelines.

On Aug. 16, St. Mary’s County Circuit Court Judge Joseph M. Stanalonis sentenced the defendant, Darrick Monte Evans, 45, of Washington, D.C., to 16 years in prison.

This past February, Evans pleaded guilty to a single count of distribution of narcotics in connection with the incident, which occurred in early March 2022.

In the indictment, which was handed down last year as a result of an investigation by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, court officials identified the person the suspected fentanyl was given to as Trayquan Lee.

According to a press release from the St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, “By examining the victim’s phone record, investigators discovered text messages, phone calls and a transfer of funds that revealed Evans to be the individual who distributed fentanyl to the victim.”

State sentencing guidelines call for a sentence between two and eight years for anyone convicted of a count of narcotics distribution. The state’s attorney’s office requested a 20-year sentence for Evans.

“There must be severe consequences for anyone engaged in the distribution of this deadly drug,” St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling (R) said in a release last week. “Fentanyl, especially fentanyl deceptively marked as a prescription pill, is inherently dangerous. In this tragic case, the defendant’s criminal actions led to the loss of a life.”

The case was prosecuted by Lisa Ridge, assistant state’s attorney.

The lead investigator in the drug case was Cpl. David Potter of the St. Mary’s sheriff’s office.

Last year, Evans pleaded guilty in an unrelated incident, which occurred in April 2022 and led to the death last year of Danicco Theodore Hall, 21, of Lexington Park.

According to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, Hall was shot multiple times during the incident, which occurred on Marshall Boulevard in Lexington Park.

Investigators identified the gunman in that incident as Demetrius Rashud Puifory, 46, of California.

Last December, Puifory was found guilty by a jury of second-degree murder, first-degree assault and five handgun charges. He is to be sentenced next month, according to court records.

Evans pleaded guilty to one felony charge of being an accessory after the fact in Hall’s death. According to court records, Evans’ sentencing in that case has been delayed several times and is now scheduled for Nov. 8.