A Virginia man was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison Monday for selling a package of fentanyl from a Costa Mesa motel that killed a 22-year-old woman.
Matthew Benjamin Hurley told US District Judge James V. Selna during a hearing in Santa Ana that he is solely responsible for the overdose death of Rose Avelar in Huntington Beach in August 2020.
South Carolina Woman Dies From Overdose
Hurley, who referenced his own struggle with addiction, accepted a plea agreement in which he admitted to possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, resulting in a fatality, the previous year.
Hurley admitted to the judge, I never intended for anyone to get hurt. I’m fatigued from the suffering and grief my addiction has caused because the person I am while I’m high is not the person I want to be.
The parents, brother, and sister-in-law of Avelar traveled from Massachusetts to witness the sentencing, and in tearful speeches to the judge, they expressed the ongoing grief that Avelar’s loss has caused them. They described her as a beautiful, ambitious young woman” who was enthusiastic about her new apartment and impending college courses.
Rose’s brother, Austin Avelar, said to Hurley, You stole her from me. She died alone, far from me and my family, and the pain of her death is so profound that I get the impression it will never stop.
Rose’s father, Luis Avelar, saw that Hurley continued to sell fentanyl after learning of the overdose death.
Illegal Sale Of Fentanyl
The father stated He was determined to make a living off the pain of others. He continued doing it as if nothing had happened.
Samuel Cross, Hurley’s attorney, argued unsuccessfully for a 10-year sentence reduction, stating that Velar had specifically purchased fentanyl from Hurley and not another substance that had been unintentionally adulterated with fentanyl. Selna added, If it weren’t for that sale, she would still be alive.
Cross said, Had Mr. Hurley not been available, another seller would have been. The judge stated I have difficulty understanding this argument. Does the presence of several offenders diminish the gravity of the crime?
The judge eventually noted the sad consequences of Avelar’s death on his family, as well as Hurley’s tough upbringing that led to his heroin addiction and peddling.
Hurley was one of more than a half-dozen suspected drug dealers who were charged federally in April 2022 for allegedly selling fentanyl-laced narcotics that caused ten deaths in Orange County.
All of the suspected dealers were charged with death-causing fentanyl distribution. They faced a required minimum of 20 years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life without parole if convicted at trial.
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