A Wichita man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for giving a man a fentanyl pill that caused his death.
The sentence was handed down in federal court to 35-year-old Tyler Ralls, who had pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of a controlled substance which resulted in death.
Prosecutors said in July, 2019, Ralls gave a pill laced with fentanyl to 35-year-old Michael Marsalla. Ralls later admitted that he knew Marsalla was not a user and didn’t have a tolerance for fentanyl. The next day when Ralls couldn’t reach Marsalla by phone, he went to Marsalla’s house and found him unresponsive. He called 911 and paramedics pronounced Marsalla dead at the scene.
U.S. Attorney Kate Brubacher said in a press release that the sentence is one of the most severe handed down for a fentanyl death case in Kansas. She said this will be a cautionary tale to fentanyl traffickers about the repercussions they face for their crimes.
