A drug trafficker who was found guilty of dealing fentanyl and crack cocaine was sentenced to 97 months in prison on Thursday after a trial in Brooklyn’s federal court. The fentanyl Monroe distributed was linked to an overdose death of a mother from West Virginia in April 2015.
Johnnie “Nut” Monroe was given 97 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Brian M. Cogan. Cogan also ordered the defendant to forfeit $150,000.
“The death of a woman in West Virginia after ingesting fentanyl pills distributed by defendant Johnnie Monroe did not deter him from shortly thereafter shipping another package of pills containing fentanyl to West Virginia,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Rohde. “Today’s sentence holds Monroe accountable for contributing to the deadly opioid epidemic facing this country.”
Monroe and his co-conspirators were trafficking drugs in West Virginia and continued even after they caused the death of the young woman, according to the government’s sentencing memorandum.
Monroe was caught on a wiretap stating, “The girl went out.” When asked to clarify what “went out” mean, he responded, “Went out! OD, OD!” Two weeks later, he mailed out another package of pills to West Virginia, according to court documents.
In addition to trafficking fentanyl to West Virginia, Monroe also supplied crack cocaine to the Queensbridge neighborhood in Queens. According to court documents, he was monitored by NYPD in selling crack on 20 separate occasions.
Monroe also took part in a failed robbery plot where he and co-conspirators were supposed to commit armed robbery of a man believed to be traveling with $110,000 in cash at a bus station in Manhattan. The deal fell through and Monroe was caught on a wiretap bragging that he and co-conspirators were in position had the targeted victim shown up.
Co-defendant Edward Carrillo was sentenced to 126 months in prison on Dec. 5 on the same charges of conspiring to distribute fentanyl. Co-defendant Terrell Carmichael got 51 months on Nov. 16 for conspiring to distribute crack-cocaine in Queensbridge. Co-defendant Kyle Williams got 42 months on Dec. 12. Three additional co-defendants are awaiting sentencing.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Justice, drug overdoses have become the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50. From 2012 through 2015, fentanyl overdoses have increased by more than 20 percent in West Virginia, according to DEA.
