U.S. Attorney’s Office Files Criminal Complaint Against Burtonsville Woman in Connection With Fentanyl Overdose Death

First-grade teacher allegedly sold drugs on school property during work hours.

Greenbelt, Maryland - The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland has filed a criminal complaint against Sarah Katherine Magid, 34, of Burtonsville, Maryland. Magid is charged with distributing fentanyl that resulted in serious bodily injury and the death of a victim. The criminal complaint was unsealed on November 13, 2024, as Magid appeared in the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gina L. Simms.

Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the charge with Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget, Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington Division, and Chief Marc R. Yamada, Montgomery County Police Department.

After the death of the victim in March 2024, law enforcement discovered text messages between the victim and Magid pertaining to the distribution of fentanyl. Specifically, a forensic analysis of the victim's cell phone revealed a text conversation and subsequent meeting between Magid and the victim. The messages uncovered a drug transaction involving pills that had been pressed to appear like oxycodone hydrochloride 30 mg pills but actually contained fentanyl. After the meeting and transaction, the victim was found deceased. The Washington, D.C., Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the victim's cause of death was fentanyl toxicity.

Additionally, in July 2024, a complainant reported to law enforcement that Magid, a Montgomery County first-grade schoolteacher, exited her classroom to sell drugs to people outside of the school. Law enforcement subsequently identified text messages from Magid's phone indicating that she dealt drugs during work hours.

If convicted, Magid faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years imprisonment up to a maximum sentence of life in federal prison for the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death or serious bodily injury. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by a criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and/or until proven guilty at later criminal proceedings.

The law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation are all partners in the recently announced Maryland Fatal Fentanyl Overdose Task Force ("MFOTFF"). Led and coordinated by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland and the DEA's Washington Division, the task force is focused on raising awareness of the dangers of fentanyl, as well as creating connections between local, state, and federal authorities to increase prosecutions of overdose-death cases in Maryland. A Public Service Announcement created for MFFOTF is available online.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the DEA and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Metropolitan Police Department and the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office for their assistance. Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan S. McKoy and Elizabeth Wright who are prosecuting this federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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