Salem teens' fentanyl overdose death leads to 6-year sentence for Monmouth drug dealer

The overdose death of a Salem teenager due to counterfeit Oxycodone pills that were actually fentanyl led to a 6-year prison sentence for his Monmouth drug dealer.

Javen Pedro, 21, was sentenced Tuesday to 75 months in federal prison and six years supervised release on his guilty plea to distributing a controlled substance to a person under 21.

"(Pedro's) case highlights the dangers of fentanyl and the absolute devastation that fentanyl dealers like him have unleashed upon the community – and the lives they have taken," Assistant United States Attorney Scott Kerin said in a sentencing memorandum. "Defendant sold fentanyl to a 15-year-old child that resulted in the boy’s death. And this was not the first time defendant sold fentanyl to the victim.

"By his own admissions, defendant had previously sold fentanyl to the victim five to 10 times," Kerin said. "Like Russian Roulette, eventually the cylinder of the gun stops on a bullet and on February 24, 2022, defendant’s drug dealing became fatal."

According to court documents, on Feb. 24, 2022, officers from the Salem Police Department responded to an overdose of a 15-year-old in a south Salem home. Paramedics transported the teen to a local hospital where he died.

Further investigation revealed the previous day the teen had purchased and consumed counterfeit Oxycodone pills containing fentanyl in front of several other teens. Investigators obtained video surveillance footage from a neighbor showing the minor victim completing what appeared to be a drug transaction with a person determined to be Pedro.

Investigators located and arrested Pedro in Monmouth, and he admitted to selling 10 counterfeit Oxycodone pills to the minor victim the day prior.

An FBI task force officer said in an affidavit related to Pedro's case that there had been an increase in fraudulent Oxycodone pills manufactured and distributed in the U.S., including the Salem area.

The prosecution's sentencing memorandum said the incident that left the Salem teen dead is all too common.

"Fentanyl is devastating the community and the death toll it is leaving within its wake is truly astronomical," Kerin said. "In 2022, within the United States, fentanyl was responsible for over 200 deaths every day and a total of 73,654 people died from a fentanyl overdose. For Americans aged 18 to 45, the leading cause of death is now fentanyl overdoses."

Pedro's attorney asked for a prison sentence of five years.

"It is undisputed that Mr. Pedro sold ten fentanyl pills to a 15-year-old young man who later died from an overdose after ingesting those pills," attorney Elizabeth Daily said. "The defendant himself was only 18 years old at the time."

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com , call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter at @wmwoodworth

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem teens' fentanyl overdose death leads to 6-year sentence for Monmouth drug dealer