A jury in Arapahoe County reached a split verdict in the case of a fentanyl dealer charged in connection with the overdose death of a 14-year-old. On Tuesday, jurors found Cesar Eduardo Mejia-Sanabria guilty of possession of fentanyl and conspiracy to sell/distribute a controlled substance- fentanyl.
The jury acquitted Mejia-Sanabria on the charge of child abuse resulting in death, one of the charges the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office brought against him.
About 1 a.m. on Dec. 11, 2022, Aurora police officers rushed to a home in the 1500 block of S. Naples Street on a report of a suspicious child death. When officers arrived, they found a 14-year-old boy unresponsive on the basement floor.
An autopsy revealed the boy died from fentanyl toxicity. Investigators said an audit of the teen’s cellphone revealed a conversation to purchase fentanyl pills on the night he passed away. They traced the conversation to a number registered to Mejia-Sanabria.