A Marion County man has been charged in the overdose death of a man who he allegedly supplied drugs to.
Hunter McSwain has been formally charged with Dealing a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death, a Level 1 Felony.
“Drug traffickers who are knowingly dealing poisonous and lethal fentanyl must be held accountable for their actions, especially when someone tragically dies as a result,” Indianapolis District Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Gannon said.
According to a probable cause document released on Monday, McSwain is accused of supplying drugs that led to the death of Nathan May in 2020.
According to those documents, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer responded to the 4100 block of Kildeer Drive around 8:20 a.m. on July 26, 2020, after a witness found a victim “slumped over” in a vehicle.
May was unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the Marion County Coroner, a blood test later determined that May’s cause of death was “Acute Fentanyl Intoxication.”
In February of 2022, the DEA Indianapolis District Office began investigating historical data from May’s cell phone along with data from McSwain’s phone and another known witness. The evidence found in those phone records indicated that McSwain was “a school buddy” and linked him to the alleged drug deal that eventually led to May's death, according to court documents.
Investigators determined that McSwain and May allegedly met in a parking lot where they exchanged cash for an unknown substance. Court documents allege May took the substance, smoked a cigarette and then headed back to his car – which was the last time he was seen by McSwain and another known witness.
In messages recovered by detectives, McSwain discussed his role in May’s death, including the fact that he had warned May about the effects of the drug he was allegedly supplying.
McSwain was taken into custody on Monday. He faces jail time between 20 to 40 years.
“The opioid crisis has resulted in the widespread distribution of fentanyl that has resulted in a tragic trail of anguish and despair from the unnecessary deaths of hundreds across Marion County and beyond,” said Kendale Adams, Deputy Chief of IMPD’s Criminal Investigations Division. “This case highlights two important lessons, with the first being that many street drugs are contaminated with an extremely powerful opioid that can often lead to death. The second is that narcotic dealers face consequences by federal, state and local judicial systems when the distribution of their products result in fatal overdose deaths.”
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