Heroin Dealer Sentenced to Four Years In Overdose Death

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GAITHERSBURG, MD — A Gaithersburg man who admitted that he sold heroin that caused the buyer to die of an overdose was sentenced Monday to four years in prison followed by three years of probation, authorities said.

The admission was part of the guilty plea made in October by Nathaniel Wright Jr., 58, to charges of conspiring to distribute and possession with intent to distribute heroin, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland

In his plea agreement, Wright said that from at least June 2013 until his arrest in April, he sold heroin to multiple addicts, who would purchase between one-half to two grams per week.

On June 14, 2013, Wright sold an unidentified individual a gram of heroin for $100, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. After ingesting the heroin that evening, the individual “died as a result of alcohol and narcotic intoxication,” the statement said.

Wright also admitted that on 16 occasions, he sold a total of 22 grams of heroin to two confidential sources. Overall, he distributed between 400 and 700 grams of heroin, prosecutors said.

Two others have also pleaded guilty to participating in the heroin ring: Ronald Bryant, 46, of Montgomery Village; and Carlos Brandon Peoples, 29, of Washington, D.C.