PITTSBURG – An Eastern Contra Costa County man has been sentenced to over five years in federal prison for selling pills laced with fentanyl that caused the overdose death of a former classmate, federal prosecutors said.
Northern California U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds’ office announced Monday that 23-year-old Gage Pascoe of Pittsburg received a 68 month sentence, along with five years of supervised release. Earlier this year, Pascoe pleaded guilty to the charge of distributing fentanyl.
Court document said on the night of June 16, 2020, the former classmate came to Pascoe’s house to buy oxycodone pills. He sold her 13 “M30” pills, which lab tests later showed were laced with deadly fentanyl.
The next morning, the woman was found dead in her bed and the bag containing pills sold by Pascoe were found in her room. Prosecutors said the victim was a resident of Walnut Creek and attended the same high school as Pascoe.
The government’s sentencing memorandum asserted that while Pascoe didn’t intentionally cause the woman’s death, he “played Russian roulette” and that the victim suffered the fatal consequences of his conduct.
Along with the prison term and supervised release, the judge in the case also ordered Pascoe to pay restitution to the victim’s family for funeral costs.
According to federal officials, fentanyl has become the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. Counterfeit M30 pills routinely contain fentanyl, with four out of 10 such pills possibly containing a lethal dose.
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