Arizona man sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling drugs that resulted in a person’s death
Aug 20, 2024, 4:15 AM
Robert Don Schield was sentenced to 10 years in prison for distributing drugs that led to a woman's death. (Pexels Photo)
(Pexels Photo)
PHOENIX – A Camp Verde man was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release for selling drugs that led to a person’s death, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Robert Don Schield, 40, sold six fentanyl pills and 10 grams of methamphetamine to a woman in February 2022. The woman was discovered unresponsive and not breathing when her friend found her the next morning. After the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) responded to the scene, the medical examiner deemed the cause of death to be from methamphetamine and fentanyl intoxication.
“This defendant’s actions caused a tragic death,” the Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Cheri Oz said in a press release. “DEA will not stop working with our law enforcement partners to protect our communities and hold those responsible who distribute deadly and dangerous drugs.”
Schield was arrested in March 2022 after selling the same type of drugs to another person for $300.
“We cannot let those who introduce poison into Arizona’s communities walk about with impunity,” United States Attorney Gary Restaino said. “One pill can kill, and therefore one small drug transaction can lead to long time in prison.”
In May 2024, Schield pled guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl that resulted in an overdose death.
The DEA and YCSO conducted the investigation.
The Arizona Department of Health reports that in 2024 there have been 665 deaths caused by opioids and 4,781 emergency and inpatient visits for suspected opioid overdoes.
