Dealer Named 'Eggy' Gets 11 Years In Fatal Southington OD Case

SOUTHINGTON CT — An accused drug dealer with the street name "Eggy" has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison as part of a Southington fatal overdose case. The sentencing comes one day short of the incident's third anniversary.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that Edgardo Rivera, a 28-year-old Hartford resident who was also known "Eggy," was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 138 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for fentanyl distribution and firearm possession offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 17, 2017, Southington police and an emergency medical crew responded to a Southington residence after receiving a report about an "unresponsive male."

At the residence, medical personnel pronounced a male victim dead of a suspected drug overdose. Investigators collected bags at the scene, which were later found to contain fentanyl, Durham said. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner subsequently determined the victim's cause of death to be "acute fentanyl toxicity."

The investigation revealed that the victim purchased fentanyl from Rivera the day before the victim died from ingesting the drug, according to case records.

In May and June of 2018, police conducted controlled purchases of fentanyl and heroin from Rivera, case records show.

Rivera has been detained since October 5, 2018, when he was arrested on a criminal complaint. At the time of his arrest, he was found in possession of approximately 300 grams of "controlled substances" containing heroin and fentanyl, a loaded 9mm pistol, and more than $14,000 in cash, case records show.

On May 23, 2019, Rivera entered a guilty plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 40 grams or more of fentanyl, along with one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a narcotics trafficking offense, according to case records.