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Norfolk man sentenced to prison after Fentanyl distribution results in Chesapeake woman’s death

Fentanyl Opioids CNN
Posted at 12:28 PM, Apr 05, 2022
and last updated 2022-04-06 07:45:12-04

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man was sentenced to 45 years in prison after participating in a fentanyl manufacturing conspiracy that resulted in a young woman’s death.

Daniel Carrington was convicted by a jury in May 2021 of all five counts related to the drug conspiracy, including distribution of fentanyl resulting in the overdose death of a Chesapeake woman, identified in court documents as D.J.

Court records show that Carrington purchased heroin, fentanyl, and acetyl-fentanyl to resell in Chesapeake and throughout the Hampton Roads region. The drugs distributed by Carrington resulted in D.J.'s death.

D.J. died in 2019 just two days after Christmas.

A medical examiner testified that the levels of fentanyl in the victim’s body were five times the minimum level considered to be lethal by forensic pathologists.

Daniel Carrington’s wife, Alexis Carrington maintains his innocence.

“I'm sorry it happened, but I just feel like, I still feel he's not guilty about it," Alexis Carrington said.

She said Carrington was exposed to drugs and crime as a child because his mother abused drugs.

"I feel like, if he would have had a little more guidance, maybe things would have gone different for him,” she said.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Carrington was aware the woman’s death and he still continued to sell fentanyl until his arrest in May 2020.

Alexis Carrington believes the evidence in the case doesn’t add up and her husband has been wrongly convicted.

“He was incarcerated a majority of the time when they said that he was doing these dealings,” said Alexis Carrington. “How can you meet up with someone in person if they’re incarcerated?”

Other evidence included videos of the Carrington laughing at his “tester” while he was falling out of consciousness and proudly declaring how strong his fentanyl was, included large quantities of cash, a firearm, and illegal narcotics.

Text messages introduced at trial showed the Carrington’s knowledge that he was distributing pure fentanyl and that he knew of its lethal effects.

Federal prosecutors say he had no remorse and even used his customers as guinea pigs.

The say Carrington rapped and bragged about selling dope and wore the role of drug dealer like a badge of honor.

Meantime, Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi says he’s glad Carrington’s finally being held accountable for his long criminal past.

“We don’t forget,” said Fatehi. “We may not be able prosecute every case, but the criminal intelligence we gather endures and eventually, we catch up with people.”

Before D.J.’s fatal overdose, Fatehi says Carrington was charged with two separate murders in Norfolk. Prosecutors however later dropped the case after witnesses were too afraid to come forward.

“It breaks my heart and upsets me,” he said.

Fatehi says he’s now pushing lawmakers to fund the state’s witness protection program so more people can feel safe to speak out.

Meantime, he’s working with police to hold others like Carrington accountable and stop the flow of illegal drugs off the streets.

“I constantly worry that the next person who thinks they’re using what they would consider to be a safe dose of these dangerous drugs, will die,” he said. “We need more resources at the state and the federal level. We need more help from medication-assisted treatment; we need more help for harm reduction; we need more help for overdose prevention.”

Carrington is a father of two children. His wife says he plans to appeal.

"[Daniel] just wants to say, he doesn't want anybody to cry,” Alexis Carrington said. “He wants everybody to keep believing and when the appeal gets started, he's hoping and praying that he'll be home pretty soon."

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.