NEWS RELEASE
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Lexington man has admitted that he distributed fentanyl, which caused the overdose death of a Fayette County woman who was several months pregnant.
On Monday, Fred Rebmann, 31, pleaded guilty to distributing a controlled substance that resulted in death. Under federal law, Rebmann will face a minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment and must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence.
Rebmann admitted that, in February of this year, he sold the pregnant woman what she thought was heroin. Instead, what he sold her was fentanyl, a powerful opioid as much as 100 times more potent than morphine. She consumed the drugs and died.
Toxicology reports confirmed that she had five times the therapeutic dose of fentanyl in her system and no traces of heroin or other controlled substances. The report also concluded that, had it not been for the fentanyl, she would not have died.
“This case starkly demonstrates the predatory nature of heroin trafficking,” said Kerry B. Harvey, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “For less than $100, the Defendant sold an obviously pregnant woman the most deadly drug commonly available on our streets. The tragic result was all too predictable.”
U.S. Attorney Harvey, Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Mark Barnard, Chief of Police, Lexington Police Department, jointly announced the plea.
The investigation was conducted by DEA and Lexington Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Bradbury prosecuted this case on behalf of the federal government.
Rebmann is scheduled to be sentenced on November 14, 2016. Any sentence imposed by the Court will come after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes.