Silver Spring Man Guilty in Heroin-User's Death

SILVER SPRING, MD — A deadly overdose of a narcotic he billed as heroin led to the guilty plea of Jeffrey Sean Nazari, 44, of Silver Spring Tuesday on charges that he gave the drug to a user who died.

Nazari admitted distributing a controlled substance analogue and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the Department of Justice.

The victim was found dead of acetyl fentanyl intoxication on January 5, 2015. Nazari admitted the acetyl fentanyl analogue he sold resulted in the death.

Acetyl fentanyl is a designer drug related to the painkiller, fentanyl. It's considered up to five times as potent as heroin, according to the CDC.

The victim bought heroin and other drugs from Nazari for around five years. The victim purchased the acetyl fentanyl analogue from Nazari, who misrepresented the substance as heroin.

Following a search of another customer's vehicle, police executed a search warrant at Nazari's home. They found him attempting to flush drugs down the toilet. Law enforcement seized 7.5 grams of acetyl fentanyl analogue, 10 grams of cocaine and nine grams of testosterone. They also found a loaded .380 caliber handgun, which Nazari was prohibited from possessing due to prior felony charges.

Nazari was indicted by a federal grand jury in April of 2015.

If the Court accepts the plea agreement, Nazari will be sentenced to between 10 and 15 years in prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for July 25, 2016. Nazari remains detained.