Two Evansville residents have been sentenced to federal prison in a fentanyl trafficking case that resulted in the death of a 3-year-old girl and the overdose of an 18-month-old child.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office release, Arcinial Montreal Watt, 36, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl resulting in death and was ordered to pay $6,007 in restitution. Jazmynn Alaina Brown, 27, received a 15-year federal prison sentence and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Between August and October 2021, Watt obtained more than 400 grams of fentanyl and stored the drugs in a shared bedroom at a residence on East Sycamore Street. The home was occupied by two other women and their four young children. On October 26, 2021, three children found and were exposed to fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills. One child died from fentanyl poisoning the next morning. Another was hospitalized and survived after being treated with NARCAN.
Authorities later seized over 5,750 fentanyl-laced pills, more than $25,000 in cash, and a firearm from the residence. The Drug Enforcement Administration notes that as little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal.
The case was investigated by the Evansville Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crime Task Force. Sentences were issued by U.S. District Judge Matthew P. Brookman.
