LOS ANGELES
A federal judge Thursday sentenced a Riverside man who sold a potent synthetic opioid very similar to fentanyl to a friend – who then suffered a fatal overdose from the drug – to 26 years in federal prison.
U.S. District Court Judge John A. Kronstadt sentenced Adam Scott Caward, 33, after Caward admitted to selling and possessing acetyl fentanyl.
Caward plead guilty on Nov. 30 to the distribution of acetyl fentanyl resulting in death, and possession with the intent to distribute acetyl fentanyl.
“Caward had no regard for human life and his conduct caused misery and death,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna. “Synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl from China, are extremely dangerous and this sentence should send a message to drug dealers that we will seek to hold them responsible for the deaths caused by their criminal behavior.”
The federal investigation into Caward began in June 2017, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted a package sent to Caward from China.
The shipment contained a compound known as 4-FIBF, which is another analogue of fentanyl – meaning that the narcotic is chemically similar to fentanyl and designed to cause an effect similar to the potent synthetic opioid.
A subsequent investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, in cooperation with the Riverside Police Department, led to the discovery of controlled substances at Caward’s Riverside home in July.
The investigation linked Caward to other fentanyl and synthetic opioids that he possessed nine months earlier at his then-residence in Chino Hills.
According to court documents, Caward exchanged a series of text messages with a friend on November 7 and 8, 2016, which culminated in Caward selling his friend a purple powder containing acetyl fentanyl.
Within hours of purchasing the narcotic from Caward, the friend died of acute acetyl fentanyl intoxication.
On November 16, 2016, the Riverside Police Department executed a state court search warrant on Caward’s Chino Hills residence, where they found a number of controlled substances, including fentanyl analogs.
Among the drugs that Caward had about 19.5 grams of the same purple powder containing acetyl fentanyl that he sold to the friend.
One week before his death, the friend had purchased acetyl fentanyl from Caward and suffered an overdose while driving, which resulted in a severe car accident that injured the friend and several people in another vehicle, according to prosecutors.
The investigation determined that Caward continued to use the dark web to contact Chinese suppliers and order more fentanyl analogs after the death of his friend.
During today’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors noted that the 2016 overdose death was not the first fatality linked to narcotics sold by Caward.
In August 2015, Caward sold a fentanyl to another man, who died of a drug overdose, prosecutors argued.