Feds indict Erie man on charges of supplying fentanyl that caused 22-year-old's death

An Erie man caught with suspected fentanyl pills in a Millcreek Township police drug investigation in April is accused of supplying the fentanyl that caused another man's death.

A federal grand jury has indicted 33-year-old Delvon L. Sanders on charges of distributing a substance containing fentanyl that resulted in serious bodily injury and death, possession with intent to distribute a substance containing fentanyl, and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a substance containing methamphetamine.

The indictment was filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Erie.

Sanders has been in the Erie County Prison on $250,000 bond since his arraignment April 19 on charges including possession with intent to deliver in the Millcreek drug case. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance on the federal charges in U.S. District Court in Erie on June 7.

Sanders faces 20 years to life in prison on the lead charge, if the fentanyl resulted in serious bodily injury or death, according to information in an indictment memorandum filed in the case. He faces up to 20 years in prison on the fentanyl possession charge, and five to 40 years in prison on the methamphetamine possession charge, according to information in the memorandum.

According to the memorandum, the methamphetamine charge could lead to a sentence of 10 years to life if the defendant had a prior conviction for a serious drug felony. According to the indictment, the grand jury found that Sanders was previously convicted in 2018 on a charge of possession with intent to deliver and served more than 12 months for the offense.

According to information in Sanders' online court docket sheet in that case, he was charged by Erie police with possession with intent to deliver and felony flight to avoid apprehension for an incident that occurred in May 2018. Sanders pleaded guilty in Erie County Court to both charges in October 2018 and was sentenced to 16 months to three years in prison, according to his online court docket sheet.

More:Erie man charged in suspected fentanyl delivery as authorities warn of blue pill dangers

Death investigation and drug probe

Authorities accuse Sanders of supplying suspected fentanyl that caused the death of a 22-year-old man sometime on April 17 or April 18.

Millcreek police learned of the death on the afternoon of April 18, with the victim found at a location in the township, police reported.

An autopsy determined the victim died of acute fentanyl toxicity, authorities reported.

Millcreek police made no mention of the drug death in their investigation that led to the drug charges they filed against Sanders.

According to information in his criminal complaint, investigators set up an undercover drug buy from Sanders on April 18 to purchase six blue suspected fentanyl pills, and they agreed to meet at a sandwich shop in Erie. Investigators said they set up surveillance at Sanders' residence in the 4000 block of Warsaw Avenue in Erie and followed him as he left the residence and arrived at the sandwich shop.

When police approached Sanders at the meeting location, he was seen dropping a clear baggie containing blue pills and stepping on them in an attempt to destroy them, investigators wrote in the criminal complaint.

Police later served a search warrant on the Warsaw Avenue residence and said they seized items including 28 blue pills suspected of containing fentanyl, three bags of suspected fentanyl powder, a chunk of suspected crack cocaine and seven large sandwich bags containing suspected methamphetamine, according to information in the complaint.

Sanders was scheduled to appear in court for his preliminary hearing in the Millcreek drug case on Friday morning.

Blue pills and drug deaths

The Erie County District Attorney's Office issued a warning on its website in April about blue pills containing fentanyl that officials said were circulating in Erie and were suspected of being involved in a number of overdoses and possibly some overdose deaths in the region.

More:Erie County DA warns of dangers of blue pills as Erie man charged in drug death probe

Several people have been charged in Erie County so far this year with supplying drugs that led to someone's death. They include:

• Joshua S. Davies, 52, charged by Erie police in April with supplying drugs that caused the deaths of two people. Davies was held for court on charges including two felony counts of drug delivery resulting in death following his preliminary hearing in May.
• Jeffery L. Thomas, 42, charged by the Pennsylvania State Police in April with drug delivery resulting in death and other offenses in the overdose death of a woman in April 2021. Thomas is scheduled to appear in court for his preliminary hearing in July.
• Izaiah E. Borrero, 22, charged by Millcreek police in April with supplying drugs that caused a man's death in March. Borrero waived charges including drug delivery resulting in death to court at his May 1 preliminary hearing.
• Jacob L. Bells, 31, charged by state police in March with supplying drugs that caused a man's death in August. Bells waived charges including drug delivery resulting in death to court at his preliminary hearing in April.

There have been other cases where defendants initially charged in Erie County with supplying drugs that caused deaths were indicted federally.

Erie resident Damon Henderson was sentenced in December 2021 to eight years in federal prison for providing cocaine and fentanyl that caused the death of a man in Millcreek Township in 2017.

In September 2021, Derrick L. Hemphill Sr. was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for supplying drugs that caused the death of a woman in Millcreek in 2017.

In October 2020, Dona A. Cowans was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for providing fentanyl that caused a man's death in Fairview Township in 2019.

More:Erie drug dealer gets 8 years in federal prison for fatal overdose in landmark local case

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.