A Hollywood man who allegedly dealt fentanyl to buyers he met on Craigslist was indicted Friday on federal charges of selling the powerful synthetic opioid to a customer who suffered a fatal overdose.
Andrew Madi, 25, was charged by a Los Angeles federal grand jury with one count of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death. If convicted, Madi would face a sentence between 20 years and life in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Madi met with the victim on July 3 at a shopping complex in West Hollywood, where he allegedly sold almost a half-gram of what he called "China white" to the victim, according to a criminal complaint filed last week.
Hours later, Madi contacted the victim via text message and asked how the buyer was doing, to which the victim responded that the drug was "pretty powerful," and noted that "this white does the job," according to the indictment.
On July 6, the victim's father discovered his son dead. The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office concluded that the victim died of a fentanyl overdose, and investigators later identified other Craigslist posts dating to at least March 2018 in which Madi advertised the sale of fentanyl, heroin and Xanax, according to the complaint.
Madi is expected to be arraigned Dec. 21 in downtown Los Angeles.
