Donte Jacobs, Fentanyl Trafficking, Delaware 2016

A 26-year-old woman’s overdose death has led to the conviction of a New Castle County man in the first federal fentanyl overdose death case in Delaware history.

The jury delivered a guilty verdict against Donte Jacobs, who was accused of distributing and conspiring to distribute fentanyl-laced heroin that resulted in the death of T.A. on June 28, 2016. Jacobs faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison as a result of his conviction.

According to court records, Jacobs had a longstanding agreement to distribute heroin and/or fentanyl-laced heroin with others in the region. By the end of June 2016, Jacobs was distributing fentanyl-laced heroin packaged with a “BUTTER” stamp on it.

The “BUTTER” stamped drugs were sold to T.A. by one of Jacobs’ sub-distributors. Hours later, in New Garden Township, Pennsylvania, the victim used those drugs and died from a fentanyl overdose. Toxicology records showed that T.A. had 26 ng/ml of fentanyl in her blood stream when she died, a clearly lethal amount.

Members of what is now the Southern Chester County Police Department worked with the DEA to investigate T.A.’s death. They first arrested the sub-distributor who directly sold the “BUTTER” bags of fentanyl-laced heroin to T.A. Officers then recorded a conversation between that sub-distributor and Jacobs, wherein Jacobs acknowledged his involvement in distributing the “BUTTER”-stamped drugs.

During the conversation, Jacobs also explained to his sub-distributor how people, “die every day” from fentanyl overdoses. United States Attorney David C. Weiss stated, “The message from this verdict is simple. If you knowingly sell a substance that may contain fentanyl and that substance causes death, we will hold you accountable.”

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe and Jesse S. Wenger prosecuted the case. Jacobs also pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm that was found during the course of the investigation. Sentencing for all of these offenses is currently set for January 10, 2020.

The DEA and local law enforcement agencies have made significant strides in combating the opioid epidemic. “Drug-trafficking is an inherently dangerous and risky business. This same risk will now lead Jacobs to spend at least the next 20 years of his life in federal prison,” said Jonathan A. Wilson, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Philadelphia Field Division.

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