An Akron man who was previously indicted in federal court on drug charges is now facing a more severe penalty for the overdose death of a 23-year-old Akron woman last March.
Ryan Sumlin, 27, was charged in a superseding indictment in U.S. District Court in Cleveland this week with distributing heroin and fentanyl with an added specification for causing the death of another. If convicted, Sumlin faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison, according to Mike Tobin, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Investigators say Sumlin provided a mixture of heroin and fentanyl to Carrie Lynn Dobbins, who overdosed and died March 28. Fentanyl is a powerful pain killer often sold in place of or with heroin.
Sumlin originally was indicted last September in federal court with Leroy Shuarod Steele, 37, and Sabrina M. Robinson, 35, both also of Akron, for possessing and distributing fentanyl. Steele also was charged with distributing the drug to someone from Akron on March 21, 2015, who died after taking it.
Federal prosecutors say Steele, Robinson and Sumlin obtained the drug from suppliers in China and distributed it to residents in Akron, Fairlawn and elsewhere between March and April 2015. Steele’s and Robinson’s cases are still pending in federal court. Officers from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, along with the Akron and Fairlawn police departments, conducted the investigation.