Phoenix Man Sentenced To More Than 19.5 Years In Prison For Selling Fentanyl That Killed Mesa County Inmate

GRAND JUNCTION - The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado announces that Jeremiah Robinson, 44, of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced to 235 months (more than 19.5 years) in prison, to be followed by four years of supervision, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl.

According to the plea agreement and information presented at sentencing, Robinson was a longtime drug dealer and six-time convicted felon operating in Phoenix. Prior to May 2022, Robinson had repeatedly sold drugs to Efrain Velez, a drug dealer who traveled from Mesa County, Colorado, to buy from Robinson. On May 7, 2022, Robinson sold bulk fentanyl and methamphetamine to Velez and two associates, Vanessa Vasquez and Anna Munday, in Phoenix. As the trio made their way back towards Mesa County, law enforcement intercepted their vehicle and discovered the drugs. During the traffic stop, Velez and Vasquez hid drugs on their persons and smuggled them into the Mesa County Detention Facility. Once inside the jail, Munday and Vasquez further distributed the drugs to inmates. On May 20, 2022, Karlie Locke gave one of the pills sold by Robinson to another inmate, who died of fentanyl intoxication.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), two milligrams of fentanyl can kill the average American; seven out of ten DEA-tested pills contain at least that amount.

The four other conspirators in this case have been separately charged for fentanyl distribution resulting in death under the case number 22-cr-00232-GPG. Vannessa Vasquez has been sentenced to nine years' imprisonment and Karlie Locke has been sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. Anna Munday and Efrain Velez are pending sentencing.

"Jeremiah Robinson valued the profit from his drug trade over the lives of his customers," said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matt Kirsch. "Wherever you operate, if you sell drugs that make their way into Colorado, our office will find you and hold you accountable."

United States District Court Judge Gordon P. Gallagher presided over the sentencing. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Rocky Mountain Division and the Mesa County Sheriff's Office investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey K. Graves, Jennifer Springer, and former Assistant United States Attorney Jeremey Chaffin prosecuted the case.