Fentanyl dealer convicted in split verdict after overdose death of 14-year-old
A jury in Arapahoe County reached a split verdict in the case of a fentanyl dealer charged in connection with the overdose death of a 14-year-old. On Tuesday, jurors found Cesar Eduardo Mejia-Sanabria guilty of possession of fentanyl and conspiracy to sell/distribute a controlled substance- fentanyl.
The jury acquitted Mejia-Sanabria on the charge of child abuse resulting in death, one of the charges the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office brought against him.
About 1 a.m. on Dec. 11, 2022, Aurora police officers rushed to a home in the 1500 block of S. Naples Street on a report of a suspicious child death. When officers arrived, they found a 14-year-old boy unresponsive on the basement floor.
An autopsy revealed the boy died from fentanyl toxicity. Investigators said an audit of the teen's cellphone revealed a conversation to purchase fentanyl pills on the night he passed away. They traced the conversation to a number registered to Mejia-Sanabria.
As part of the investigation, an undercover officer texted Mejia-Sanabria to purchase drugs and the two agreed to meet at a nearby department store to exchange $350 for 100 fentanyl pills. Mejia-Sanabria and another woman were seen arriving at the location and then left when the undercover officer said they couldn't meet.
Mejia-Sanabria and his passenger were arrested on outstanding warrants unrelated to the boy's death in a traffic stop that officers conducted immediately after leaving the department store. During a search of the vehicle, officers found fentanyl pills, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
"Drug dealers do not care who they sell this poison to," Chief Deputy DA Chris Gallo said in a statement. "This defendant was in the business of making money. We will continue to prosecute offenders who engage in this criminal enterprise."
"Instead of writing off this case as a tragic overdose, I commend the Aurora Police Department for their in-depth investigative work in identifying a drug dealer selling poison on our streets," District Attorney John Kellner said in a statement. "In order to save other lives, it's a priority for my staff and I to go after dealers who push this poison."
Sentencing is set for April 1 at 3 p.m. Mejia-Sanabria faces a maximum of 16 years in the Department of Corrections.
