HENDRICKS COUNTY, Ind.— Avon mother Shannon Jones was emotional as she spoke directly to convicted drug dealer Trevor Strickland at his sentencing Thursday.
“I’m not sure what you were thinking giving a 15-year-old fentanyl,” Jones told Strickland. “I need you to remember Ray’s name and know our family will never be the same because of your selfish acts. You’re a small speck in a problem that’s killing so many.”
Shannon’s son Ray Jones died on March 15, 2023, after buying pills laced with fentanyl.
Ray was a student at Avon High School.
Shannon Jones said her son was a good kid, responsible and polite.
“He was never given a chance to learn a lesson from this,” said Shannon Jones. “No time you get will bring Ray back to me.”
Jones told Strickland that losing a child is like “living in hell” and that Ray’s 12-year-old sister is struggling with the trauma of finding her brother dead.
“I hope all who choose to deal this poison are found guilty,” said Shannon Jones.
Strickland told WRTV he’s sorry for causing Ray’s death.
“I apologize,” Strickland told WRTV.
Trevor Strickland told WRTV he’s sorry for causing Ray’s death.
As part of a plea agreement, Strickland pleaded guilty to Dealing in a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death, a Level 1 Felony.
“I let money, greed, and addiction cloud my judgment,” Trevor Strickland, a now-convicted drug dealer, told the judge.
Thursday, a Hendricks County judge sentenced Strickland to 20 years in state prison followed by five years of work release.
“You killed somebody,” Judge Stephenie LeMay-Luken told Strickland. “You made a choice. Your actions show you really don’t care.”
At the time of his arrest, Strickland was found in possession of nearly 1,000 tablets of “M30” suspected to contain fentanyl, over 26 ounces of additional narcotics, $18,000.00 in currency and a loaded handgun, according to Avon Police.
Hendricks County prosecutors received $500,000 from the national opioid settlement with manufacturers, distributors and retailers.
"Here in Hendricks County, we are using that money to fight and go after drug dealers that are committing these crimes and pushing this fentanyl that is killing people,” said Hendricks County prosecutor Loren Delp. “The message to those who are committing this crime is we are going to prosecute it to the fullest extent of the law and I think you're going to see some results from that. "
WRTV Investigates found very few Indiana schools have reported they’ve used the overdose medication Narcan, this despite dozens of emergency runs to schools because of possible overdoses.
PREVIOUS | Few schools using overdose medication
Narcan, also known as naloxone, is a life-saving medication that can reverse an overdose caused by heroin, fentanyl or prescription opioids.
State numbers show more than 1,000 drug overdose deaths so far this year, including more than 700 from opioids.
