A 10-time convicted felon from the Antelope Valley has been arrested on a 10-count federal grand jury indictment alleging he distributed fentanyl that resulted in the overdose deaths of four victims at a Palmdale house last year, the Justice Department announced Friday.

Damian Michael Evans, 46, of Palmdale, was arrested Thursday and is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.

He is charged with one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), one count of possessing a firearm and ammunition in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

According to the indictment returned on Wednesday, on January 15, 2024, Evans knowingly and intentionally distributed fentanyl, the use of which resulted in the deaths of four victims in Palmdale. Evans allegedly also possessed other illegal narcotics in late 2023 and early 2024, including after the four fatal fentanyl overdoses in Palmdale.

Evans also illegally possessed a revolver and ammunition in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities. He is not legally permitted to possess them because his criminal history includes convictions dating from 1997 to 2016 in Los Angeles Superior Court for 10 felonies – nine of them drug-related convictions and most of them for drug dealing.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted of all charges, Evans would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are investigating this matter. This case is part of the DEA’s Overdose Justice Program and LASD’s Overdose Response Task Force.

Assistant United States Attorney Brittney M. Harris of the Transnational Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.

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