Man sentenced to prison for providing fentanyl that killed 3 at Auburn Hills hotel

Detroit Free Press

A 21-year-old Lake Orion man was sentenced Thursday to eight to 15 years in prison for providing the fentanyl drugs that killed two Rochester Hills brothers and a female friend.

Police found Lorenzo Brabo overdosing in a room at the Baymont hotel in Auburn HiIls on July 29, 2020; he was revived with Narcan, which reverses opioid overdoses. Three others in the room — Caleb Kiessling, 20, Kyler Kiessling, 18, and 17-year-old Sophia Harris, also of Rochester Hills — were already dead.

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Brabo was charged initially with delivery of controlled substance causing death — a charge that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Last month he pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

In paperwork associated with the plea deal and filed in court, Brabo said he obtained "Percocet that ended up having fentanyl in it" and that he was "very sorry."

An emotional graveside service was held for brothers Caleb, 20, and Kyler Kiessling, 18, Wednesday Aug. 5, 2020 at the Van Hoosen Jones-Stoney Creek Cemetery in Rochester Hills. The two brothers were found dead recently in an Auburn Hills hotel room from an overdose. In the lower right photo Caleb, left, and Kyler, right.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin and is responsible for more overdose deaths than any other drug in the nation.

According to preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdose deaths increased 30% across the nation from 2019 to 2020. A record-breaking 93,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2020; more than 57,000 of those deaths were attributed to fentanyl.

Contact Georgea Kovanis: gkovanis@freepress.com.