Tarzana man sentenced to over 15 years for fentanyl sales

A Tarzana man was sentenced Monday to 15 years and eight months in federal prison for distributing fentanyl in the form of fake Percocet pills that caused the deaths of an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl.

Dominick Alvarado, 23, was also ordered to pay restitution of $41,271, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Alvarado pleaded guilty last year in downtown Los Angeles to two federal counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

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Alvarado sold fake pills laced with fentanyl to a group of young people in the parking lot of a Valencia shopping mall on July 11, 2022. Two days later, an 18-year-old Santa Clarita man was found dead by his brother, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.

Ten days after the first death, Alvarado sold fake pills containing fentanyl to another group of teenagers at the same mall where the prior transaction took place. Following that sale, a 17-year-old girl died of fentanyl poisoning after ingesting the narcotics and suffering an overdose in a Santa Clarita park, court papers show.

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