Rashon Williams, 22, of Akron, was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday for selling carfentanil to a pregnant woman who overdosed and died.Summit County Prosecutor’s Office
AKRON, Ohio – An Akron man was sentenced to eight years in prison for selling carfentanil, a powerful animal sedative, to a pregnant woman who overdosed and died.
Rashon Williams, 22, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of trafficking in heroin in the Aug. 4, 2016 death of Megan Carlson.
He also pleaded guilty to cocaine possession in an unrelated case, the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Judge Christine Croce immediately sentenced Williams in Summit County Common Pleas Court.
“This case is a horrible example and reminder of how deadly these street drugs have become,” Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said in a statement. “While I am pleased to get one more drug dealer and his deadly poison off the street, I am saddened by this tragic and senseless loss of life.”
Carlson, 26, was six months pregnant when she was found dead in her home in Cuyahoga Falls. The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office determined she died from ingesting carfentanil, and investigators traced the drug to Williams, prosecutors said.
Carfentanil was linked to a strong of overdose deaths that happened last year in Summit County and has also been detected in Cuyahoga County and Lake County. The drug is not safe for human use and presents a “clear and present danger to the community,” Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Gilson said last year in a statement.
Carfentanil is an analog of — but significantly more powerful than — the opioid fentanyl and is used in veterinary practice to immobilize large animals. It is the most powerful opioid that is sold commercially.
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