Fatal Fentanyl Overdose Leads To Prison Sentence For Alexandria Drug Dealer

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A drug dealer in Alexandria tied to fentanyl overdose deaths in Vienna and Clifton was sentenced Wednesday in relation to one of the deaths.

Reza Hashemi, 34, of Alexandria, was sentenced in federal court to 15 years in prison for conspiring to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl that resulted in death. Prosecutors say Hashemi distributed over 400 grams of fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid, in Northern Virginia between July 2020 through June 2021.

Law enforcement identified Hashemi after an October 2020 overdose death of a 22-year-old man in Vienna. The cause of death was identified as acute fentanyl and Etizolam intoxication.

Prosecutors say Hashemi admitted to distributing counterfeit pills containing fentanyl to the victim, but he refused to speak with law enforcement about the victim's death without a lawyer. Hashemi then continued to distribute drugs, according to prosecutors.

The prison sentence resulted from another overdose death. In May 2021, police responded to a drug overdose of a 26-year-old woman in Clifton. Her cause of death was identified as fentanyl intoxication.

A witness who had called 911 admitted to getting drugs from Hashemi, according to a detective's affidavit. Hashemi typically distributed the drugs from a location near Reed Avenue in Alexandria.

Text messages included in court documents detailed a time the witness had the 26-year-old woman pick up drugs from Hashemi. The drug dealer provided about 1 gram of powder fentanyl.

"He said it's real strong so be careful," the woman wrote in a text to the witness.

After the two took the drugs, the witness fell asleep and woke up to the woman non-responsive on the floor.

In June 2021, law enforcement convinced the witness to set up another purchase from Hashemi, the affidavit stated. The drug dealer met up with the witness in a parking lot, where he received money for the drugs and said the drugs were in a utility box in a wooded area.

Hashemi was stopped and arrested by law enforcement at Old Gallows Road and Leesburg Pike in Tysons. Police found over 1 gram of fentanyl powder in the utility box.