Bakersfield Man Pleads Guilty in Fentanyl Deal Resulting in Deadly Overdose

By Bill McEwen, News Director

Published 2 years ago on

April 24, 2023

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Nearly two years after his indictment, a Bakersfield man pleaded guilty in Fresno federal court on Monday to conspiring to distribute fentanyl.

The plea of Marcus Randall, 39, was announced in a news release by U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert.

According to court documents, on Dec. 16, 2020, Randall sold fentanyl pills to a victim who later ingested the pills and suffered an overdose death.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bakersfield Police Department, the Kern County Probation Department, and the California Highway Patrol developed the case against Randall.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin J. Gilio and Antonio J. Pataca are prosecuting the case.

Randall is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 7 by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. Randall faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of as much as $1 million.

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Bill McEwen,

News Director

Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email