We've reported on the tougher crackdown by federal prosecutors on drug dealers on the Illinois side of the river when their dope sales lead to overdoses. Now, we have a case in Missouri that has landed a dealer behind bars for twenty years after one of his clients died.
Hagi "Fetti" Scott, 36, received his sentence last Thursday in federal court. In January he pleaded guilty for providing heroin and cocaine to Ryland Peace Ort, a 22-year-old Mizzou student from Clayton.
The charge was made under a federal statute, title 21 of the US Code, which permits attorneys to prosecute drug dealers as if they were murderers. We left messages with the prosecuting attorney, Tiffany Becker, and the spokesman for U.S. Attorney Richard Callahan to see how many similar charges have been brought by their office in the last three years. We'll update when we have answers. But at least one previous report lists the number at two.
Scott, who already did a seven-year prison stint after a previous drug charge, reportedly apologized to the victim's family in court, asking for their forgiveness. See the indictment below.
