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A man convicted in the drug-related death of an Indianapolis woman in 2023 has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Marion Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Marchal imposed the sentence Friday on Rashaan Williams, who was convicted of selling deadly fentanyl-containing narcotics to Shylis Garrett. Last month, a jury found Williams guilty of dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, a level 1 felony, after a three-day trial.
“The sentence handed down reflects our and our partner’s commitment to identifying and stopping those who take advantage of individuals struggling with substance use disorder,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a written statement. “The defendant’s deception proved fatal and today he reaped the consequences for the decisions he made.”
On July 14, 2023, a county deputy coroner was dispatched to an apartment on the northeast side of Indianapolis after Garrett was found dead in her residence.
During an examination of Garrett’s cellphone, the coroner found communication between Garrett and Williams, which showed that Garrett had asked Williams for substances like Xanax and Adderall.
Further examination revealed a money transaction between the two a day earlier, indicating the sale of a controlled substances, according to the prosecutor’s office. Authorities said Garrett didn’t know the narcotics she received contained fentanyl in a deadly combination.
Investigators then identified Williams as the person who supplied Garrett with the narcotics that ultimately resulted in her death.
The coroner’s office said Williams’ death resulted from a combined intoxication of fentanyl, cocaine, clonazepam, acetylfentanyl and bromazolam.
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