Jahvaris Lamoun Springfield, Fentanyl Trafficking, California 2022

A San Diego man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for selling fentanyl that resulted in the death of a U.S. Army veteran, marking the longest sentence to date in this district for this crime.

Jahvaris Lamoun Springfield, 30, was sentenced in federal court on February 14, 2022, for causing the death of Brendan James Gallagher by distributing fentanyl to him on February 5, 2019.

According to court documents, Gallagher was a U.S. Army veteran who served overseas in Afghanistan. Upon his return to the United States, he was honorably discharged. In 2018, Gallagher moved from Boston to San Diego in an attempt to break his addiction. However, he turned to opioid drugs in the form of counterfeit oxycontin pills later that year.

The evidence presented at trial showed that Gallagher sent text messages to Springfield seeking to purchase oxycontin pills on the afternoon of February 5, 2019. Later that day, Gallagher’s roommates called 911 to report that he was nonresponsive in his bedroom. When agents arrived at the residence, they found two counterfeit oxycontin pills that tested positive for fentanyl.

Springfield was arrested and found with counterfeit oxycontin pills that tested positive for fentanyl in the vehicle he was driving.

DEA Narcotics Task Force Team 10 led the investigation in this case. Team 10 is a specialty unit that investigates overdose deaths in San Diego and aggressively pursues criminal cases against both the dealers and their sources of supply.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is working closely with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the San Diego Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute cases targeting those who supply drugs in fatal overdose cases.

For those who suffer from addiction, please know that there is help. Call the Crisis line at 888-724-7240; it’s always open.

The defendant’s name is Jahvaris Lamoun Springfield. The exact criminal charges are causing death by distributing fentanyl. The city and state are San Diego, California. The exact date is February 14, 2022. The sentence or outcome is 25 years in prison.

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