DC drug dealer sentenced to 20 years for deadly fentanyl, cocaine overdoses

WASHINGTON - A D.C. man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for running a fentanyl and cocaine drug trafficking operation that caused the deaths of two people, officials say. 

Sheldon Marbley, 44, of Washington, D.C., acknowledged in his plea agreement that he caused at least 13 opioid overdoses in January 2022 – two of which were fatal. 

Marbley ran his drug trafficking operation near the area of First and O Streets near Nationals Park in Southwest D.C. 

On January 28, 2022, Marbley sold fentanyl and cocaine to a 69-year-old and 72-year-old, who subsequently died. Marbley admitted in May 2023 that he had distributed fentanyl and cocaine from the driver’s seat of a Mazda sedan in Southwest.

EMS and MPD officers responded to at least 13 fatal and non-fatal opioid overdoses in that area on January 28. 

U.S. Attorney Graves said in a statement that Marbley knowingly continued to sell fentanyl to others, even after causing fatal or near-fatal overdoses of over a dozen people. He continued to sell narcotics until he was arrested on March 23, 2022.

"[Marbley] knowingly continued to sell this poison to others," said Graves. "This 20-year sentence not only sends a message to other drug peddlers, it puts a full stop to this trafficker’s career."