GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) – A Phoenix drug dealer who sold fentanyl, resulting in the death of a Mesa County Jail inmate, was sentenced Thursday.

Jeremiah Robinson, 44, was sentenced to 19 1/2 years in prison and four years of supervised release after serving his sentence.

Robinson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl.

Robinson was a longtime drug dealer and six-time convicted felon who operated out of Phoenix. Prior to May 2022, Robinson had sold drugs to Efrain Velez, a Mesa County drug dealer, on several occasions.

“Jeremiah Robinson valued the profit from his drug trade over the lives of his clients,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matt Kirsch. “No matter where you work, if you’re selling drugs that end up in Colorado, our office will find you and hold you accountable.”

On May 7, 2022, Robinson sold bulk fentanyl and methamphetamine to Velez and two associates, Vanessa Vasquez and Anna Munday, in Phoenix.

Law enforcement stopped their vehicle and discovered the drugs on the way back to Mesa County. During the traffic stop, Velez and Vasquez concealed the drugs on the individuals and smuggled them into the Mesa County Detention Center.

Once inside the prison, Munday and Vasquez distributed the drugs to the inmates. On May 20, 2022, Karlie Locke gave one of the pills sold by Robinson to another inmate, who died of fentanyl poisoning.

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