Evansville- An Evansville man has been found guilty of dealing heroin and Fentanyl resulting in the overdose of a 28-year-old female from Kentucky. A federal jury found that 31-year-old Johntavis Matlock was directly responsible for the overdose and charged him with distribution of heroin and fentanyl overdose resulting in serious bodily injury. They did NOT, however, charge him with the distribution of heroin and fentanyl resulting in death.
According to court documents, Kentucky Law Enforcement responded to the overdose of 28-year-old Jennifer Wiley at her home on February 28, 2021. She was determined to be deceased upon EMS’s arrival on the scene. The cause of death was later revealed to be a fentanyl overdose.
An examination of Wiley’s cell phone revealed that Wiley frequently purchased controlled substances from the defendant, Johntavis Matlock. From June 2020 through February 2021, Matlock coordinated with Wiley to sell her both heroin and fentanyl out of his home in Evansville, Indiana.
On the day of Wiley’s first overdose, at 7:05 p.m., Wiley texted Matlock that she was at Matlock’s residence to pick up drugs. At 10:27 pm, Wiley texted “I overdosed and died, had an ambulance called and everything, be careful with that ****,” to which Matlock responded “Damn please don’t overdo it. I don’t wanna have that on my conscience. I’ve lost to many people to this stuff. Wtf were you thinking.” Following the first overdose on December 11, Matlock continued supplying Wiley with substances.
The tragic death in this case highlights the tremendous danger posed by the trafficking of fentanyl and other opioids. The defendant continued to seek profits pushing these poisons with utter disregard for human life—even after Ms. Wiley had already overdosed once,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers. “Substance use disorder is a devastating disease that international drug cartels and local dealers greedily exploit. Thanks to the hard work of our prosecutors, the DEA, EPD, ISP, and local Sheriff’s Offices, no more families will lose a loved one because of this defendant while he is serving his sentence in federal prison.”
The DEA, ISP, Evansville Police Departments, Vanderburgh County Sheriff Department, Henderson County Sherriff Office, and the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force helped in this investigation. Matlock is looking at 20 years to life in a federal prison. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, as little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal, depending on a person’s body size, tolerance, and past usage. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people. 6 out of 10 illegal fentanyl tablets sold on U.S. streets now contain a potentially lethal dose of the drug.
