An Indianapolis man was sentenced to eight years in prison and a year of probation for attempting to sell heroin to a man who had died.
Dawayne M. Dillard recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit dealing a narcotic drug, a Level 3 felony, according to court documents.
Johnson County Superior Court 3 Judge Lance Hamner accepted the guilty plea which came with a sentence of eight years in prison and a year of probation, the recommended sentence for a Level 3 felony, court documents said.
Dillard, who has a history of drug-related arrests, must also go through substance abuse evaluation and treatment. He has 454 days of jail credit, according to court documents.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation into Dillard in July 2018, the day they were called to an overdose at a home on Driftwood Lane in the Brentwood neighborhood of Greenwood.
Despite emergency workers’ attempts to save him, including a dose of Narcan meant to reverse overdoses, 24-year-old Nicholas Gemlich died, according to court documents.
Investigators began looking into who Gemlich had been in contact with before his death, and came across Dillard.
The sheriff’s office began an investigation, and found that Dillard was selling heroin, including some that was laced with fentanyl, and he had sold the drug to Gemlich the day he overdosed, court documents said.
Deputies studied Gemlich’s phone and found that he was in contact with Dillard. Text messages showed that Gemlich had made plans to see Dillard. Deputies used Gemlich’s phone to lure Dillard to them for a proposed deal, according to court documents.
Dillard was arrested after offering to sell heroin that he promised was "high quality" and "pure" for $300 outside a Greenwood business. At the time of the arrest, Dillard had a 2-year-old child in his vehicle, court documents said.
Deputies found more than 2 grams of heroin inside Dillard’s vehicle.
