Bridgeport Drug Dealer Sentenced In Overdose Death Case: U.S. Attorney

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A 30-year-old Bridgeport man was sentenced last week to 20 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery announced.

Daniel Oliver, also known as "Chase," was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford. Oliver had been accused of supplying fentanyl to a 23-year-old Bronx, New York woman who died of an overdose after he sold her the drug.

In December 2023, Oliver pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, a controlled substance. After a hearing in April, Judge Williams found that Oliver sold the fentanyl to the overdose victim that resulted in her death.

According to court documents and statements, in April 2020, the victim was discovered unconscious in her bedroom. Law enforcement and medical personnel responded to the scene, and she was pronounced dead. Fentanyl and drug paraphernalia were recovered from the scene, and the victim’s autopsy found that she died of "acute fentanyl intoxication."

An investigation revealed that Oliver sold the victim fentanyl shortly before her overdose death; that he knew she had not used opioids for some time before the sale; that he warned her that the drugs could be more dangerous based on her period of sobriety; and that he deleted his Facebook account, which he used to communicate with the victim, shortly after the victim died.

In January 2021, Bridgeport Police made a controlled purchase of fentanyl and heroin from Oliver, and he was arrested that month on state charges. A court-authorized search of his residence revealed 140 folds containing a mixture of fentanyl and heroin, and a quantity of cocaine.

Oliver was arrested on a federal criminal complaint in September 2022, and he has been detained since his arrest.

This matter was investigated by the New York City Police Department, the Bridgeport Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, which includes personnel from the DEA Bridgeport Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bridgeport, Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford, Milford, and Danbury Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ruff.