South Bay Fentanyl Supplier Sentenced To 26 Years

REDONDO BEACH, CA — A Los Angeles County man who admitted to supplying fentanyl that caused two deaths on consecutive days in Redondo Beach hotel rooms was sentenced Monday to 26 years in federal prison.

William V. Fulton, 40, of Torrance, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer to pay $12,385 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Fulton pleaded guilty in July to a federal charge of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and admitted supplying fentanyl to two fatal overdose victims.

Fulton was named in a five-count indictment filed in May 2021 that accuses him of drug charges and being a felon in possession of ammunition.

Fulton admitted supplying fentanyl on Oct. 10, 2020, to a person who died, and acknowledged doing the same thing a day later at another hotel where a second person died after ingesting the drug. When he was arrested on Oct. 13, 2020, by the Redondo Beach Police Department, Fulton possessed more than two ounces of fentanyl and over 2.5 ounces of methamphetamine, according to the indictment.

Police also seized two 9mm ghost guns and 12 rounds of ammunition Fulton illegally possessed because, from 2004 through 2017, he previously had been convicted of two dozen felony offenses, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

On the day of Fulton's arrest, Redondo Beach police detectives were conducting surveillance at Norm's restaurant in Torrance, where they saw the defendant park and sit in a vehicle in the parking lot. After a man entered the passenger side of the vehicle, police detained Fulton and found a Ziploc baggie inside his right pant leg. Inside the baggie, detectives discovered 3.7 grams of a powdery substance containing fentanyl, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.

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