An Orange County man is expected to plead guilty Thursday in downtown Los Angeles to having sold counterfeit oxycodone pills to a teenager who died of a fentanyl overdose.
Tyler David Wilkinson, 25, of Santa Ana, has agreed to enter a plea in Los Angeles federal court to a single count of distribution of fentanyl.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the defendant agreed that an appropriate sentence would be between 14 and 17 1/2 years behind bars, according to Wilkinson’s plea agreement. A sentencing date will be scheduled after he pleads guilty.
Court papers show the 17-year-old victim — identified only by the initials B.B. — purchased the pills in June 2021 after responding to an advertisement prosecutors say Wilkinson posted on Snapchat. Six months before the transaction that led to the teen’s death, Wilkinson allegedly possessed distribution quantities of several types of narcotics, including nearly 1,400 counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl.
Wilkinson allegedly continued to sell fentanyl-laced pills, even after law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence.
The defendant was an “America’s Most Wanted” fugitive sought by authorities until his arrest in July 2024 by members of the Homeland Security Investigation-led Fentanyl Abatement and Suppression Team and the U.S. Marshals Service.