Madera man sentenced for selling fentanyl pill that killed his friend

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) -- The man who pled guilty to selling his friend a fentanyl pill in Madera last year learned his sentence in federal court Monday.

"He was someone who cared for people; he loved everybody. You met him, and he made sure he made you smile," said Belinda Martinez, the victim's sister.

Martinez says that's how she wants her 24-year-old brother Carlos to be remembered.

He died in August last year in Madera after his friend, Elias Soliz, sold him a Fentanyl pill.

There was not a dry eye in the courtroom when a judge sentenced Soliz to ten years in prison and recommended he attend a substance abuse program.

"What's unusual about this case is the distribution of one pill, normally someone isn't prosecuted for that. The penalty for this normally under the guidelines is 15 to 20 months; what's unusual in this case is there's a death; that elevates the sentence up to 10 years," said legal analyst, Tony Capozzi.

Capozzi says the responsibility comes in because of the ongoing fentanyl epidemic and the fact that just one pill can kill.

"The judge made a really important comment: if you're selling fentanyl, you should know, unless you live under a rock, that someone who takes that pill has a 50 percent chance of dying," said Capozzi.

Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno says the decade-long prison sentence sends a message to drug dealers.

"It demonstrates, that we here in Madera are not gonna tolerate fentanyl and fentanyl distribution," said Moreno. "These fentanyl dealers. We're gonna come after them as hard as we can."

For Carlos's family, they are now focused on honoring his memory as someone who loved the water and helped those around him.

"I think more than anything he loved to be at the skate park -- my youngest. Like my sister said, started skateboarding because of my brother," said Martinez.

Martinez says while Monday's sentencing gave them some peace, she never wants anyone else to experience the whole left in her heart, by her brother's death.

"I wish it doesn't hit anybody else's family, so taking one person off the street helps a little bit, but it gave us some closure," said Martinez.

Soliz has an extensive criminal history. Most recently, in 2022 he pled not guilty to a 2021 assault with a deadly weapon.

That case out of Madera County is still ongoing.

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