The accused seller in a fentanyl death won’t face murder charges. He might wish he did
Fort Lauderdale resident Jean Jameson knows about drug charges. Drug convictions have put Jameson in prison or on probation five times. But now the drug charges he faces are in federal court, connected to a fentanyl death.
And that puts Jameson, a 35-year-old native of Port au Prince, in a court with a sky-high conviction rate facing charges that could put him in prison for 20 to life on just one count.
Instead of a charge of murder in Broward County Circuit Court, Jameson stares at one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and two counts of distribution of fentanyl. Conviction on the first charge carries a minimum 20-to-life sentence. The other two have maximum 20-year sentences.
To send Jameson away for a couple of decades, federal prosecutors just have to prove he sold a person identified in the indictment as “A.M.” the fentanyl that resulted in A.M.’s death on Sept. 25, 2018.
Had Jameson been charged with murder in Broward court, prosecutors likely would’ve had to argue he showed “depraved indifference” in selling the fentanyl, meaning he should have known the fentanyl he sold had a high potential to kill the user.
Jameson’s trial is set to begin in May. His previous convictions include burglary, cocaine possession and marijuana possession.
This story was originally published April 12, 2019 at 11:42 AM.
