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A Kokomo couple has been sentenced to a combined 50 years in federal prison for dealing fentanyl that resulted in a woman’s death, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced Monday.
U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Brookman sentenced Dashawn Brown, 25, to 30 years in prison and Emily Rouse, 24, to 20 years after they pleaded guilty to the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.
Brown also pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and felon in possession of a firearm.
“Fentanyl dealers endanger every community they touch, and in this case their actions cost a woman her life,” Tom Wheeler, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in a written statement. “Our office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities and ensure they are held accountable for the devastation they cause.”
According to court documents, Brown and Rouse conspired to distribute fentanyl pills to customers from fall 2022 to March 13, 2023.
On March 7, 2023, police arrested Brown following a traffic stop. Officers found Brown possessed about 60 fentanyl pills and two handguns, even though he was prohibited from carrying any guns due to a previous Level 5 felony conviction.
Brown was held at the Howard County Jail while he waited for a trial. While incarcerated, Brown coordinated drug transactions with Rouse through texts and recorded phone calls on the jail’s communication system.
A few days after his arrest, Brown had Rouse contact B.S., one of his fentanyl customers, to collect money from a previous transaction, authorities said. The next day, B.S. paid their debt and bought more pills from Rouse. B.S. ingested the newly purchased drugs that evening and died from a fentanyl overdose.
On March 13, 2023, investigators executed a search warrant at Brown’s and Rouse’s shared residence in Kokomo, where they recovered about 95 grams of fentanyl pills, 535 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, a handgun and about $3,015 in cash, according to the Monday announcement.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, as little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be deadly; seven out of 10 illegal fentanyl tablets seized from U.S. streets and analyzed by the DEA contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.
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