Siblings, who are linked to a 20-year-old D.C. woman’s overdose, confessed to dealing drugs they knew were laced with potentially deadly levels of fentanyl.
Shortly after the unnamed woman’s overdose in April, white powder found on her coffee table tested positive for fentanyl, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Columbia.
A medical examiner determined that she died of acute fentanyl intoxication.
Earlier text messages between the woman and Larry Eastman, 22, of Temple Hills, Maryland, detailed a recent drug deal between them, as prosecutors noted that the woman asked for “jammers,” known to be slang for counterfeit blue oxycodone pills that contain fentanyl. Eastman directed her to his address and told her to pay his sister Justice Eastman, 26, of D.C., through a peer-to-peer payment app.
During their arrest in January 2022, investigators seized more fake oxycodone pills containing fentanyl that “match the pills that the defendants were working together to sell,” prosecutors said.
Because of its potency and low cost, fentanyl is increasingly being mixed with other drugs including heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine, prosecutors said.
Drug Enforcement Administration tests of fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills found six out of 10 contain a potentially lethal dose. That’s an increase from the agency’s 2021 findings that four in 10 contain a fatal dose, according to its One Pill Can Kill campaign website.
The Eastmans pleaded guilty to a charge of drug conspiracy involving fentanyl sales. The two will be sentenced on June 15 and could face a maximum of 20 years in prison.
