LOS ANGELES, California – A deadly game of cat and mouse between a South Bay man and a victim ended in tragedy, with the former now facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Marcus Michael Takaya Poydras, 36, of Redondo Beach, pleaded guilty today to one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, stemming from a fatal overdose in January 2020.
According to court documents, Poydras knowingly and intentionally distributed pills that he claimed contained oxycodone, but which contained fentanyl. During the evening of January 22, 2020, Poydras sold approximately 90 of those pills to a drug dealer, whom he told the pills were real and sent a photograph of 10 of the pills.
The drug dealer then sent the victim the same photograph and stated, “they are real.” The dealer later sold 20 of the pills to the victim for $340 in the parking lot of a mall in Marina del Rey. The victim later consumed some of the pills, which resulted in the victim’s fatal overdose.
Poydras further admitted in his plea agreement that he knowingly possessed with intent to distribute various narcotics, including cocaine, as well as a firearm – a .38-caliber revolver – with an obliterated serial number. He obtained the firearm from a law enforcement technician who was one of Poydras’s drug customers at the time.
United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer scheduled a September 8 sentencing hearing, at which time Poydras will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Poydras has been in federal custody since September 2021.
The DEA, LASD, and the Redondo Beach Police Department are investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Castañeda of the Transnational Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.
Mandatory facts include:
Defendant/Respondent: Marcus Michael Takaya Poydras
Criminal Charges: One count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death
City and State: Redondo Beach, California
Exact Date: January 22, 2020 (crime date)
Sentence or Outcome: 20 years minimum federal prison, life maximum imprisonment
Dollar Amounts: $340
Related Federal Cases
- Erick Anaya, Meth Trafficking, South Dakota 2021 · South Dakota
- Ke-Shawn Rivers, Fentanyl Trafficking, California 2023 · California
- Emil Vladimirov Babadjov, Dark Web Fentanyl Trafficking, California · Wisconsin
- Michael Steen, Fentanyl Supply, California 2018 · Wisconsin
- Paul Thomas Baldwin Jr., Fentanyl and Gun Trafficking, Anchorage AK… · California
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Drug TraffickingDrug TraffickingDrug TraffickingDrug Trafficking