(Cleveland) - A Berea man is sentenced to 12 ½ years in prison for selling heroin that resulted in a fatal overdose last year.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Boyko today gave Brandon Wagner 150 months in prison. Wagner, 43, was previously found guilty of distribution of heroin.
Wagner sold heroin in March 2016 that resulted in the fatal overdose of 23 year old Cory Cooke of Lakewood.
“Aggressive enforcement of the law will remain part of the solution to combating our state’s opioid epidemic,” said Mike Tobin, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. “The detectives who worked this case are to commended for their thorough investigation.”
“The crisis we have in our communities due to heroin and fentanyl is not a problem for just the addicted,” said Lakewood Police Chief Tim Malley. “The families and friends are just as intimately involved with the damage and sorrow this causes. The Lakewood Police Department will continue to investigate all of our overdose cases to hold those accountable that have participated in any way in ending someone’s life. Those selling the heroin know that fatal consequences are all too likely with what they are selling, all for a few dollars. The Lakewood Police Department will continue to work with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutors Office, and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner to hold those accountable and take them off our streets for lengthy prison sentences.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Darden following an investigation by the Lakewood Police Department and the Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force.
NOLETF is also one of the initial Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area initiatives, which supports and helps coordinate numerous Ohio drug task forces.
(Photo courtesy Cuyahoga County Sheriff)
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