Fentanyl Ringleader Navarius Westberry pulls life in Kentucky for overdose

Drug trafficking ringleader Navarius Westberry has become the first person in Kentucky sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge for causing an overdose death attributed to fentanyl, prosecutors said Wednesday. Westberry was given the life sentence for his role in distributing fentanyl that resulted in a 25-year-old man's 2015 overdose death in Richmond. Prosecutors said Westberry displayed "a callous disregard for human life in his quest for easy money," and said the life sentence sends a strong message to other drug dealers.

Federal overdose penalties applied in the case allow for prison terms of 20 years to life. In Westberry's case, prosecutors said he led a drug ring that shipped large amounts of heroin and fentanyl from Michigan to Richmond, Kentucky, for distribution. The drug ring operated in Richmond from early 2014 until August 2015.