Roosevelt T. Taylor (Photo courtesy: Brown County Jail)
(WTAQ-WLUK) — A Green Bay man was sentenced to two decades in prison Thursday for his role in the drug-related death of a teenage girl.
Roosevelt Taylor, 36, received his 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to distributing fentanyl resulting in death.
According to court records, Taylor repeatedly distributed counterfeit Percocet “M30” pills containing fentanyl around the Green Bay area. He described himself as a “middler” who connected customers to a larger drug distributor.
In that role, Taylor became responsible for putting hundreds of fake Percocet pills into circulation, not knowing who would ultimately ingest the potentially lethal dose of fentanyl found in about 70% of such pills.
During one of those fentanyl trafficking offenses, Taylor supplied pills to a 17-year-old female who used them and died of fentanyl toxicity.
At the time, Taylor had an extensive criminal history that included past jail and prison sentences. He was on supervision in three felony cases for robbery, burglary and delivery of heroin.
During Taylor’s sentencing, the judge likened trafficking fentanyl to distributing “poison.” He cited nationwide statistics showing seven in 10 counterfeit pills tested at DEA Crime Labs contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for 18- to 45-year-olds, and synthetic opiates like fentanyl cause over 73,000 deaths annually in the U.S.—equal to 200 deaths per day.
The DEA says illicit fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Only two milligrams of fentanyl — the amount that fits on the tip of a pencil — is considered a potentially fatal dose.
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