Pennsylvania man who mailed deadly fentanyl to Seattle area woman sentenced to more than 4 years in prison | USAO-WDWA

Seattle – A 35-year-old Pennsylvania man was sentenced today to 54 months in prison by the U.S. District Court in Seattle for distributing fentanyl and acetylfentanyl in the western district of Washington, US Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said. Jesse S. Dittmar sent several envelopes with the medicine to his ex-girlfriend, who had moved into her brother’s house in Seattle. The former girlfriend was found dead on January 29, 2019, less than 24 hours after writing to Dittmar that she had been taking some of the medications that came in the mail and that she was feeling unwell. At the hearing for the verdict, Senior District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez noted the “ruthlessness” of mailing strong fentanyl. Chief judge Martinez said to Dittmar: “This is a sad case in every respect…. You are responsible for the direct actions that led to the death of the victim. “

“Mailing deadly fentanyl disguised in brightly colored greeting cards was incredibly dangerous – for postal workers and the children and adults who may have opened the cards in their Seattle home,” said Acting US Attorney Gorman. “Fentanyl kills far too many people in our area, with overdose deaths increasing 38% in 2021 compared to the first six months of 2020.”

According to the files in the case, the 32-year-old victim separated from Dittmar in the fall of 2018 and moved to her brother’s house in Seattle in the fall of 2018. Despite Dittmar’s repeated attempts to text the victim, the victim broke off contact with Dittmar until December 2018. In December 2018 and January 2019, Dittmar and the victim were in contact and the texts indicate that he was using drugs Sent greeting cards. Dittmar repeatedly threatened suicide or the exposure of the victim’s drug use if she did not continue the relationship. On the day of her death, the victim wrote to Dittmar that she had used some of the drugs and was not feeling well. Dittmar texted the victim 25 times over the next few hours, but received no replies. He didn’t call her family or warned 9-1-1 that she might have an overdose. The next day she was found dead. After the victim’s death, several greeting cards and packaging materials for medicines were found in the victim’s bedroom. The King County coroner found the victim died of acute drug poisoning including fentanyl.

The case was investigated by the US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) with the assistance of the Seattle Police and the Seattle Fire Department.

The case was followed up by US Assistant Attorney Lyndsie Schmalz.