A San Diego man who sold fentanyl that caused the overdose deaths of two people was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in federal prison.
Jonathan Tyler Gauthier, 26, pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal fentanyl distribution charges for selling the drugs that led to the 2022 deaths of a 24-year-old man in Hillcrest and a 27-year-old man in Clairemont.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that in both instances, cell phone evidence indicated the victims and Gauthier communicated about drug sales shortly before their deaths.
The first victim was found dead in the bedroom of his Hillcrest home. Prosecutors say Gauthier regularly sold him drugs, but one day before the victim was found dead, the dealer warned his client that the fentanyl he just sold was particularly strong.
The second man died at a Clairemont residence, with a pipe and pills containing fentanyl found near his body. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said he purchased pills from Gauthier one day before his body was found.
Gauthier’s defense attorney, Meghan Blanco, said her client’s involvement in the case stemmed from a long-standing drug addiction that turned “unbelievably tragic.” She described the dead men as “close friends” of Gauthier’s.
In court, she argued the first man’s death heavily impacted Gauthier, sending him “spiraling” further into substance abuse and a deteriorating mental state. That led to “a decision that made everything insurmountably worse” by providing drugs to the second victim.
Blanco sought a sentence of 25 years, while Assistant U.S. Attorney David Fawcett said the 30-year term reflected the seriousness of the offense and could act as a deterrent for others who might sell fentanyl.
Prosecutors also argued in their sentencing papers that by warning the first victim of the drug’s strength, he was aware he was exposing him to danger. His subsequent drug sales demonstrate “a particularly callous disregard for the potentially fatal consequences of his decision to sell drugs,” prosecutors wrote.
Gauthier broke down in tears while making a statement to the victims’ families in attendance at his sentencing hearing.
“I stand before the court all present with a heavy heart over the loss of two individuals, two friends, which I regrettably contributed to,” he said. “I want the families of (the victims) to know how deeply sorry and remorseful I am for the part I played in the loss of their loved ones.”
Among the victims’ loved ones attending the hearing were the parents of both victims, who described their loss. U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino said, “It’s extraordinarily difficult to quantify tragedy, but I can say without question that this is one of the most tragic cases I’ve had in my courtroom in a long time.”
One of the victim’s mothers said she did not know Gauthier and didn’t believe he was actually a friend of her son.
Her child, she said, “made everybody feel like they were friends … He was that kind (of person),” she said.
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