Crime & Safety
Halethorpe Man Sentenced 8 Years For Selling Deadly Fentanyl
"I wish it was my life instead," he said, after dodging a manslaughter conviction for selling a deadly dose of fentanyl to a Pasadena man.
ANNAPOLIS, MD — Gabriel DelValle, the 38-year-old Halethorpe man who sold Chris King, 27, a lethal dose of fentanyl in January 2017, was sentenced 20 years in prison, all but eight suspended, on Monday. DelValle expressed his regret to King's family near the end of his sentencing, the Capital Gazette reports, but it wasn't enough.
"Drug addiction got the best of us," DelValle said in court as Chris' mother, Donna King, walked out of the courtroom. Chris' brother, Louis King Jr., shook his head angrily at DelValle, the Capital reports.
Circuit Court Judge J. Michael Wachs found DelValle not guilty of two manslaughter charges on June 19 but was found guilty of drug possession and distribution charges. Wachs called DelValle's “the absolute saddest of the opiate epidemic cases,” according to the Capital.
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The investigation began in January 2017, when police officers responded to Pasadena, where King had the fatal overdose at a home in the 100 block of Homeland Road. During the investigation, police detectives determined that DelValle had provided fentanyl to the victim, which ultimately caused his death.
Assistant Public Defender Caitlin O’Donnell argued that DelValle simply drove to Baltimore to pick up heroin for both King and himself, an act which didn't qualify him as a drug dealer.
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“Had they split it the other way around, it could have been [DelValle],” she said, the Capital reports.
DelValle's behavior "is not going to change,” Assistant State's Attorney Jason Knight said, according to the Capital. Knight requested a 20-year sentence with all but 15 suspended, citing DelValle's seven convictions in the last 20 years.
“If he was still out there, he’d still be using and still be providing his poison to other people in Anne Arundel County," Knight said.
“I’m very sorry this happened. … I’m ashamed, but this disease is killing us,” DelValle said, according to the Capital. “I wish it was my life instead of Chris’.”
Article image Anne Arundel County Police Department
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