29-05-2025
Two get prison for ‘mass poisoning' in Kalamazoo
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — Two men linked to multiple fentanyl overdoses in southwest Michigan that killed at least seven people are heading to prison for what investigators called 'a mass poisoning event in Kalamazoo County.''
James Smith, 41, faced multiple charges, including conspiring to distribute fentanyl and cocaine resulting in death. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
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Patrick Martin, 27, was charged with using his cellphone to plan to distribute the fentanyl-laced cocaine in April 2023. He was sentenced to four years in prison.
The pair were indicted a year ago. Both men were also slapped with a $1,500 fine.
According to federal officials, Smith admitted to his role in a series of drug-induced overdoses resulting in multiple hospital admissions and several deaths in and around Kalamazoo.
Smith was a drug dealer who sold cocaine by the ounce in Kalamazoo, federal officials said. On April 12, 2023, he sold two ounces of what he believed to be cocaine, but what was, in fact, fentanyl, records show.
Husband, wife, 2 cousins among dead in Kalamazoo overdoses
Martin, a regular customer, was the buyer, officials said.
Martin passed the fentanyl on to several of his own customers, one of whom overdosed and died, records show.
In a 24-hour period, first responders in Kalamazoo County attended to at least 18 overdoses.
Smith 'is remorseful for his conduct and apologizes to the victims and their families,'' his attorney wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
'I cry daily thinking of people that have lost (their) lives due to my actions,' Smith wrote, according to court documents.
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The attorney for Martin, in a sentencing memorandum, wrote that Martin did not know that the cocaine contained fentanyl and did not intend for anyone to overdose and die.
'Mr. Martin is extremely remorseful and apologetic about what happened,'' according to his sentencing memorandum.
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