LOS ANGELES
An admitted drug dealer was sentenced Wednesday to 156 months in federal prison for selling a fatal dose of the powerful opioid fentanyl to a 19-year-old man who had been residing at a sober living home.
Julian Miles Mayers-Johnson, 33, of Venice, was sentenced by U.S District Judge Otis D. Wright II.
Mayers-Johnson pleaded guilty in October 2019 to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
On October 19, 2018, outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Venice, Mayers-Johnson sold a one-half gram of fentanyl to the victim, who was residing at a sober living home in the Beverlywood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The victim suffered a fatal drug overdose the following day after ingesting the fentanyl that Mayers-Johnson supplied.
A search of the victim’s cell phone resulted in law enforcement determining that Mayers-Johnson sold the fatal dose of fentanyl to the victim.
In April 2019, Mayers-Johnson was arrested on a federal criminal complaint in this matter and has remained in federal custody since then.
“Less than two months after (the victim’s) death, (Mayers-Johnson) was still dealing drugs, including fentanyl,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. “(Mayers-Johnson’s) criminal history demonstrates his unwillingness to conform his behavior to the laws of his community – even after causing someone’s death.”