First conviction of this kind in Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Indiana – Mark Anthony Smith (43), of Madison, Indiana, was sentenced on December 10, 2025, by Judge D.J Mote to 30 years at the Indiana Department of Correction. Smith was convicted of Dealing in A Controlled Substance Resulting in Death, a Level 1 Felony for the July 21, 2024, death of David Bradley Parks (38). Smith’s conviction marks the first Dealing Resulting in Death conviction in Jefferson County.
“This case exhibits why strict sentences are imposed on individuals who deal deadly narcotics” said Prosecutor David Sutter. Sentences such as Smith’s imposed by Judge Mote are necessary as the stakes could not be higher.”
Parks, a resident at the Jefferson House, a transitional home for individuals in recovery, was found unresponsive on July 21, 2024. Witnesses and medical personnel were unable to revive him. Toxicology later determined Parks cause of death as fentanyl, xylazine, and para-fluorofentanyl toxicity. Xylazine, described in the toxicology report as a veterinary sedative, is commonly used an adulterant in illegal street drugs, such as fentanyl. Because it is not an opioid, its effects cannot be reversed by Narcan…