A man who allegedly sold fentanyl resulting in the deaths of two others could face a minimum of 40 years in prison, according to federal prosecutors .
Christopher Morales, 22, was formally charged by a grand jury on Wednesday with one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death — which is now his second charge for the same crime.
The initial charge came in October after the death of a person in Palmdale. That charge, on which prosecutors say he’ll be arraigned in the coming weeks, came after a Palmdale resident died of a fentanyl overdose in March.
Prosecutors allege that Morales knowingly sold that person fentanyl. The investigation of that initial incident led to a search of his Palmdale home in April, when the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department discovered 4.3 grams of fentanyl.
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The investigation also produced text messages between Morales and the victim, which prosecutors say indicated a transaction for fentanyl.