DELAWARE COUNTY, Ind. — A Muncie man has been sentenced to over 40 years in prison after being found guilty of supplying the fentanyl that led to a teenager’s overdose death last year.
The Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office announced that Ricky Talor received a 41-year prison sentence Wednesday after being convicted during a three-day trial last month of the following charges:
- Aiding, inducing, or causing, dealing in a narcotic drug (level 1 felony)
- Dealing in a narcotic drug (level 5 felony)
- Conspiracy to commit dealing in a narcotic drug (level 5 felony)
During the June 18 jury trial, Taylor was found not guilty of one additional charge of aiding, inducing, or causing dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, which is a level 1 felony.
According to DCPO, Taylor was the 12th individual to be convicted and sentenced for dealing in a narcotic drug resulting in death in Delaware County.
According to previous reports, officers with the Muncie Police Department were called to a residence on Sept. 16, 2023, for a suspected overdose. Officers arrived and found a juvenile male who was pronounced deceased at the scene. An autopsy report revealed that the juvenile had died as a result of fentanyl and cocaine intoxication.
Officers later found a fentanyl tablet displaying the letter “M” and a “30” on both sides while canvassing the scene for evidence.
According to court documents, investigators soon determined that the victim had acquired the drugs from another juvenile while working at the Muncie Drag Strip racetrack. That juvenile later disclosed to police that Taylor was the one who reportedly supplied them with the drugs.
Muncie police eventually apprehended Taylor on unrelated arrest warrants on Nov. 9, 2023, and he reportedly admitted to selling blue M30 pills until the date of his arrest.
“The evidence at trial indicated that there were two victims: one age 18 and the other age 17. Each of the victims had only used ½ of a pill. Taylor was wholesaling these pills he admitted that he knew the pills contained Fentanyl,” Delaware County Deputy Prosecutor Andrew Ramirez said. “The evidence demonstrated that there were two specific instances where Taylor received 700 and 1,800 respectively pills from his supplier. These two instances were separated by only 1 week. Delaware County is most definitely safer with a drug dealer like Ricky Taylor off the streets.”
