Nearly four years after a 22-year-old college student died from a drug overdose in Atlanta, the man who sold the heroin was sentenced to prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced Tuesday.
DeAngelo Copeland, 37, was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison followed by five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the charge of distributing heroin in September 2021.
“The sentencing of Copeland proves that the justice system is committed to holding drug traffickers accountable for their crimes,” Atlanta police Chief Rodney Bryant said. “Additionally, the sentencing sends a message to drug traffickers that the illegal sale of drugs will not be tolerated in Atlanta.”
On April 10, 2018, Atlanta police officers responded to a 911 call regarding the 22-year-old needing medical attention, U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine said. The investigation revealed that Copeland delivered the heroin to the student after a series of text messages earlier that day. The student used the heroin and later died, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The victim’s name was not released.
Investigators identified Copeland as the seller by arranging undercover drug purchases with the same phone number Copeland used during the transaction with the student. He sold drugs to the undercover officer on multiple occasions inside his car, Erskine said. Copeland, who Erskine said has a history of drug trafficking offenses, admitted to trafficking heroin and that the heroin he sold caused the victim’s death.
“Copeland’s heroin distribution led to yet another drug overdose death in our community,” Erskine said. “Opioid overdoses will be investigated and prosecuted as a federal priority and those who sell this poison will be held accountable for the death and suffering that it causes.”
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