David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Jacquill Stovall, 33, of Wilmington, was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Andrew for possessing a stolen firearm and possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute it.
According to court documents and statements made in open court, the Wilmington Police Department (WPD) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began investigating Stovall after he sold fake Oxycodone pills to a law-enforcement cooperator in January 2021. In a subsequent search of Stovall’s apartment in downtown Wilmington, officers found additional fake Oxycodone pills, along with a stolen firearm hidden in a kitchen cabinet officials said Friday. When law enforcement arrested Stovall, they found a second loaded gun in his waistband. Stovall admitted that he had been selling the pills and that he knew they were not Oxycodone. Chemical testing showed that the pills contained fentanyl, an extremely dangerous controlled substance.
U.S. Attorney Weiss commented on the sentence, “More people die every year by overdosing on fentanyl than by homicide. In the midst of an escalating opioid epidemic, Stovall sold fake Oxycodone pills to addicts. Unlike lawfully prescribed medications, these counterfeit pills had been pressed on the streets and actually contained fentanyl. And although he tried to hide it in a kitchen cabinet, Stovall also possessed a stolen firearm. Now, he will spend ten years in federal prison for his crimes.”
“This investigation is a great example of our strong partnership with the DEA and our joint efforts to make our communities safer,” stated Wilmington Department of Police Chief Robert Tracy.
“Stovall was responsible for trafficking fake pills that contained illicit fentanyl and for possessing a stolen firearm,” said Thomas Hodnett, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Philadelphia Field Division. “Stopping the deadly supply of fake pills such as the ones that Stovall trafficked is the highest enforcement priority for the DEA. Learn more about the dangers of fake pills from DEA’s One Pill Can Kill campaign, which can be accessed at DEA.gov/OnePill.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Howland prosecuted the case, which was investigated by WPD and the DEA.
Source: USDOJ