WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced this week to 25 years in prison for giving a man a fentanyl pill which caused his death, according to the United State's Attornmey.
According to court documents, in October 2023, Tyler Ralls, 35, of Wichita pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of a controlled substance which resulted in death.
On July 31, 2019, Ralls gave Michael Marsalla, 35, an M30 pill while the two men were working together at a company in Park City.
Ralls admited that he knew the pill contained fentanyl and knew that Marsalla didn’t have a tolerance for fentanyl.
When Marsalla didn’t arrive at work the next day and couldn’t be reached, Ralls drove to Marsalla’s house in Valley Center and found him unresponsive.
After calling 911, Ralls phoned his source for fentanyl pills to discuss whether anyone had ever died after taking them. Emergency responders pronounced Marsalla deceased at the scene. A subsequent autopsy determined the victim died of fentanyl toxicity.
“Because of the enormous influx of counterfeit pills into our communities, anytime a person ingests pills that they didn’t get directly from a medical professional, they are at great risk of dying of fentanyl overdose,” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher. “Michael Marsalla accepted a pill from someone he thought he could trust. Unfortunately, that trust was misplaced, and it cost Mr. Marsalla his life.”