A federal jury convicted a San Diego man of selling the fentanyl that caused three overdoses – one fatal – outside an El Cajon bar, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Jurors found Perry Edward Davis, 45, guilty Thursday of selling the drugs that led to the 2019 death of Joshua Chambers, 25.
Chambers and two other people collapsed outside QuarterDeck Cocktails, prosecutors said, Two of the victims recovered, but Chambers died about an hour later.
According to prosecutors, the victims were using cocaine, which was found through laboratory testing to be mixed with fentanyl.
About an hour before the victims overdosed, Davis, Chambers’ regular cocaine dealer, sold the younger man the drugs near the defendant’s Clairemont home, prosecutors said.
Davis’ attorneys contended there wasn’t sufficient evidence to show Davis had sold Chambers the fentanyl. They alleged the death may have resulted from a mixture of cocaine and alcohol instead.
Prosecutors said text messages, phone calls and witness testimony established that Chambers believed the baggie he purchased from Davis only contained cocaine.
A board-certified doctor in toxicology and emergency medicine also testified that Chambers would not have died if not for the fentanyl, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
