Kentucky man will spend up to 20 years in prison for selling drugs to overdose victim
A man from Lincoln County was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison Monday for distributing a mixture of fentanyl and heroin which caused another person’s death, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Donald Means, 55, of Stanford, admitted in a guilty plea that he knowingly sold a substance containing heroin and fentanyl to an individual knowing its potency. The victim died after ingesting the drugs, according to prosecutors.
Means sold the drugs to the victim at an Arby’s in Lincoln County on Dec. 24, 2019, according to his plea agreement. The transaction was recorded on surveillance footage.
Means told the victim in text messages about a previous overdose he was aware of from the same substance, according to court documents.
The Kentucky State Medical Examiner’s office said the victim’s death was caused by the acute, combined toxic effects of the drugs.
Means pleaded guilty to the charge in January 2022. The 20-year prison sentence was the maximum suggested in Means’ plea agreement.
Means was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell in a federal courtroom in Lexington. Under federal law, he must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence, which would be 17 years.
