Paso Robles man federally indicted for selling fentanyl, causing death of teen
PASO ROBLES, Calif. – A federal indictment was filed against a Paso Robles man on Thursday for reportedly selling a 19-year-old fake pharmaceutical pills that ended up killing him, according to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles indicted Timothy Clark Wolfe, 24, for selling fentanyl-laced pharmaceutical pills to Atascadero teen Emilio Velci, causing him to die from an overdose, said District Attorney Dan Dow.
Wolfe was originally charged with second-degree murder for the incident by the District Attorney's Office in May 2020, Dow said.
He allegedly sold Velci three pills that appeared to be 30 milligram Percocet (a mixture of oxycodone and acetaminophen), but the pills also contained fentanyl – which is known to be 50-100 times more potent than morphine, according to Dow.
Velci took one pill and died from fentanyl intoxication, he added.
Law enforcement searched Wolfe's home and found alprazolam pills, or Xanax, that teams believed that he had with the intent of illegally selling them.
Wolfe was arrested on Thursday after a federal grand jury returned an indictment for the crimes of distributing fentanyl causing death and possession with the intent to distribute alprazolam.
The federal charge for distributing fentanyl and causing death carries a mandatory minimum 20-year sentence, and a maximum life sentence in federal prison, according to Dow. Possessing alprazolam with the intent to sell carries a maximum sentence of five years.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office will dismiss its existing charges in light of the federal prosecution, Dow said.
"The federal law that criminalizes the distribution of fentanyl causing death is a powerful tool in tackling the national fentanyl epidemic by holding drug dealers accountable at a very high level," Dow explained.
"The state charge of second-degree murder requires proof that the accused was personally aware that taking the drug they sold created a high likelihood of death, whereas the federal law more broadly prohibits the unlawful providing to another person a listed drug that results in the death of the user."
Wolfe is expected to be arraigned in a United States District Courtroom in Los Angeles on Friday.
Dow warned that fake pills are designed to look like pharmaceutical-grade prescription pills, typically replication opioid medications such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, Xanax, and Adderall.
For more information on illegal, fake pharmaceutical drugs and their dangers, click here.
