Jason L. Coker, of Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), was sentenced to two years in jail for selling Fentanyl, a powerful painkiller, to two teens who died when they took it with alcohol. I have been warning presecription drug users about the dangers of Fentanyl for some time, and this case highlights the worst of what can happen when the drug is abused.
In September, Coker, 32, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and possession of a controlled substance. He admitted to selling the teens 10 Fentanyl patches for $100 in January 2010 at the restaurant where he worked.
Police found the bodies of Barry Sullivan, 18, and David Ellison, 19, in January 2010. They reportedly overdosed on Xanax, Fentanyl, and alcohol.
Coker was released on bond after his arrest, but “flunked out” of the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office pretrial release program due to drug use. He went back to jail, where he remains, prosecutor David Laird told Judge Edward W. Hanson Jr.
Judge Hanson sentenced him to 15 years but suspended all but two. Nabil Butros, 30, another man charged in the case, was sentenced to a year in jail for conspiracy to distribute Fentanyl.
Illicit versions of fentanyl were tied to more than 1,000 deaths in the U.S. between 2005 and 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fentanyl Can Be Deadly If Used Recreationally. It is a very dangerous drug that our firm has a lot of interest in getting off of the market. Please also view another article that I wrote on this subject here.
About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm (VA and NC offices) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach InjuryBoard, Norfolk InjuryBoard, and Northeast North Carolina InjuryBoard as a pro bono service.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
Comments for this article are closed.