DENVER (KDVR) — Following a five-day trial, a jury in Arapahoe County convicted a man of distributing fentanyl resulting in the death of a minor after his operation was busted in an undercover sting.
The investigation was spurred by the death of a 14-year-old Aurora High School student in 2022 .
Cesar Eduardo Mejia-Sanabria, 30, was found guilty of two counts of possession of fentanyl with intent to sell and one count of conspiracy to sell/distribute fentanyl.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 1 and he faces a maximum of 16 years in the Department of Corrections.
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Previously, Mejia-Sanabria was facing further charges, including three more charges of felony drug distribution , child abuse knowingly and recklessly causing death, and unlawful distribution of a controlled substance to a minor.
“Instead of writing off this case as a tragic overdose, I commend the Aurora Police Department for their in-depth investigative work in identifying a drug dealer selling poison on our streets,” District Attorney John Kellner said in a release announcing the guilty verdict. “In order to save other lives, it’s a priority for my staff and I to go after dealers who push this poison.”