Ohio man pleads guilty to drug sales in deadly overdose

CLEVELAND (AP) — A northeast Ohio man has pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking charges including selling fentanyl to a woman who fatally overdosed last year.

Siarres Noble, 29, of Elyria pleaded guilty today to four counts of distributing fentanyl, two counts of distributing heroin and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. A statement from the U.S. attorney’s office in Cleveland says Noble sold fentanyl to a woman Nov. 18 and she fatally overdosed the next day.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse says fentanyl is a synthetic opiate more potent than morphine that’s sometimes mixed with heroin and has caused many overdose deaths.

Noble’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 17. His plea deal calls for 20 years in prison.