Jury convicts San Diego man of dealing fentanyl-laced cocaine that led to overdose death

A San Diego man was convicted this week on a charge of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death for dealing cocaine laced with the drug to a 25-year-old man who later fatally overdosed.

Perry Edward Davis, 45, faces 20 years to life in prison when he's sentenced next year in federal court in connection with the death of Joshua Chambers.

According to federal prosecutors, Chambers and two women collapsed and overdosed shortly after snorting lines of cocaine around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2019, outside an El Cajon bar. Investigators later determined the cocaine was mixed with fentanyl, a powerful opioid that can be deadly even in small quantities.

Paramedics quickly recognized all three people had likely collapsed from an opioid overdose, and administered the overdose-reversing drug Naloxone, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego. The event outside the bar was captured on surveillance footage.

Paramedics took Chambers and the two women to hospitals. The women were quickly treated and released, but Chambers never recovered and died at the hospital about 70 minutes after overdosing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence Casper and Shauna Prewitt argued that text messages showed Davis and Chambers coordinating the cocaine purchase the morning Chambers died, according to court documents filed by the prosecution. They argued that phone records showed the men coordinated at least two previous cocaine transactions earlier that month.

Defense attorney Alexander Fuqua said Friday over the phone that he was "disheartened by the conviction" because there was "ample reasonable doubt to warrant a not-guilty verdict."

Fuqua said Chambers weighed 445 pounds and had been ingesting alcohol and cocaine for several hours before he died. The county Medical Examiner's Office listed Chambers' weight as a contributing factor in his death.

A defense expert testified the cocaine and alcohol on their own could have been fatal. An expert called by the government testified that "but for his use of the fentanyl, Chambers would not have died."

Fuqua also argued that one of the women who overdosed with Chambers had gone with him to purchase the cocaine and couldn't identify Davis as the seller. The attorney said her description of the seller did not match what Davis looks like.

"While I respect our criminal justice system, I do believe that at times they get it wrong," Fuqua said, claiming Davis' case was such a time.

Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a statement that Davis "caused a mass overdose" and, despite the work by first responders to save the women, "must be held to account for the death of Joshua, whose family and friends will bear the devastating weight of his loss for the rest of the lives."

U.S. District Judge Larry Burns presided over the trial and will sentence Davis. That hearing is scheduled for Jan. 10.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.

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