An Arlington fentanyl dealer whose pills reportedly caused a client to fatally overdose was sentenced to 10 years in prison yesterday (Wednesday).
Shan Mehmood, 21, pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to distribute 40 or more grams of fentanyl, distribution of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
Originally, he had also faced a charge of involuntary manslaughter after his arrest in July 2023.
Mehmood, who was 19 at the time of his arrest,”regularly acquired and sold fentanyl” between 2020 and 2023, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
He reportedly met a purchaser through Instagram and sold him four fentanyl pills at a shopping center in Falls Church on March 7, 2023. Later that day, police arrived at a residence in the Courthouse area to find the purchaser unconscious and suffering from an overdose.
A partially burnt fentanyl pill was wrapped in a piece of foil next to him, and another fentanyl pill was in his pocket. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead the following day.
“Mehmood learned of the victim’s death shortly after it occurred but continued to distribute fentanyl pills,” the press release says.
A search of Mehmood’s residence yielded a bag with 357 pills containing fentanyl, a semiautomatic handgun, ammunition, firearm accessories, four ounces of marijuana, digital scales and $3,846 in cash.
A complete press release from U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia is below.
An Arlington man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for trafficking fentanyl and carrying a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime.
According to court documents, from May 2020 to April 27, 2023, Shan Mehmood, 21, regularly acquired and sold fentanyl. On March 7, 2023, a purchaser contacted Mehmood through Instagram to buy four fentanyl pills. Mehmood met the purchaser at a shopping center in Falls Church and sold him four fentanyl pills at 1:15 p.m. At 6:45 p.m., police responded to a suspected overdose at a residence in Arlington and found the purchaser unconscious and in cardiac arrest. Lying next to him was a piece of foil wrapped around a partially burnt fentanyl pill and another fentanyl pill was in his pocket. The victim was transported to a hospital that evening and was pronounced dead the following day. An autopsy identified acute fentanyl intoxication as the cause of death.
Mehmood learned of the victim’s death shortly after it occurred but continued to distribute fentanyl pills.
On April 27, 2023, Arlington County Police executed a search warrant at Mehmood’s residence. Mehmood possessed a plastic bag containing 357 blue M30 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl with a net weight of 38.46 grams, two one-gallon bags containing four ounces of marijuana, a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, 9mm ammunition, firearm accessories, digital scales, and $3,846 in cash.
Mehmood pled guilty on Feb. 28 to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, distribution of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and David E. Geist, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr.
The Arlington County Police Department provided significant assistance in the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys James L. Trump and Catherine Rosenberg prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:24-cr-11.
