Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones on Thursday announced that Criminal Court Judge Andrew Freilberg issued an eight-year prison sentence to Calvin Suttles, who pleaded guilty earlier this week to providing the fentanyl that caused Larmar Rose to die of a fatal overdose in 2023.
According to the press release posted to social media by Jones, law enforcement obtained surveillance camera footage allegedly showing Suttles and the victim meet and exchange money for the illicit substance at a gas station in Madisonville. Just two hours after their transaction, the victim experienced a fatal overdose, according to the sheriff.
Suttles pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Wednesday, more than two years after the transaction took place in December 2023.
“This case serves as a sobering reminder of the deadly consequences of fentanyl. What may seem like a single purchase can end in tragedy within hours,” Jones wrote in his post to social media.Â
Since 2018, the second-degree murder statute in Tennessee has included, “A killing of another that results from the unlawful distribution of any Schedule I or Schedule II drug,” when the illicit substance causes the death of the user.
The statute also makes specific reference to deaths caused by “unlawful delivery or unlawful dispensation of fentanyl or carfentanil,” when those substances are “the proximate cause of death of the user.”
Suttles faced up to 60 years in state prison. According to Jones, he will complete all eight years of his sentence behind bars.
The conviction comes as the Trump administration reportedly achieves success in its efforts to curtail fentanyl, both through its efforts to interdict drugs in the Caribbean, and efforts by FBI Director Kash Patel to work with the Chinese to stem the flow of fentanyl precursors out of the country.
It also comes as another lethal narcotic, cychlorphine, has reached Tennessee. Also of Chinese origin, experts say this drug is up to 10 times more potent than fentanyl. Earlier this year, it had already been linked to more than 30 fatal overdose deaths in the Volunteer State.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
