Berea Man Sentenced to 12.5 Years In Jail For Selling Heroin That Led To Overdose Death

CLEVELAND, OH - A Berea man was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison on March 20. The man sold heroin that resulted in the fatal overdose of a Lakewood man last year.

Brandon Wagner, 43, was sentenced to 150 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko. Wagner pleaded guilty to distributing heroin in November 2016.

“The crisis we have in our communities due to heroin and fentanyl is not a problem for just the addicted,” said Lakewood Police Chief Tim Malley in a statement. “The families and friends are just as intimately involved with the damage and sorrow this causes. The Lakewood Police Department will continue to investigate all of our overdose cases to hold those accountable that have participated in any way in ending someone’s life.”

According to cleveland.com,. Wagner sold a 23-year-old Lakewood resident a fifth of a gram of heroin, which led to the resident's overdose. However, Wagner's role in the death of a 23-year-old Lakewood resident is emblematic of a larger battle in the city.

Lakewood has been hit particularly hard in the heroin/fentanyl epidemic. The suburb led all of Greater Cleveland suburbs in heroin overdose deaths in January 2017. And that continued a trend from 2016. According to the city, in 2016 Lakewood Police and Fire departments responded to 251 overdose calls, and the community experienced 28 heroin deaths.

“Aggressive enforcement of the law will remain part of the solution to combating our state’s opioid epidemic,” Acting U.S. Attorney David A. Sierleja said in a statement. “The detectives who worked this case are to commended for their thorough investigation.”

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