Warner Robins man sentenced to 25 years in fentanyl overdose case

Prosecutors say the fentanyl sold by the defendant led directly to a woman’s fatal overdose.

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A Warner Robins man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for distributing fentanyl in a case prosecutors say led directly to a deadly overdose.

According to a news release from Houston County District Attorney Eric Edwards, 42-year-old Clyde Laval Richardson Jr. pleaded guilty on December 8 to one count of distribution of fentanyl. He was sentenced on Friday, December 12.

Investigators say the case stemmed from the overdose death of a 36-year-old Houston County woman who was found unresponsive in her bedroom on June 28, 2023. The Houston County Sheriff’s Office and emergency crews responded, and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation determined the woman died from the combined effects of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and other narcotics. According to the medical examiner, her blood contained a fatal concentration of fentanyl.

Investigators later reviewed the woman’s cell phone and found messages showing repeated drug purchases from Richardson and his girlfriend, Marie Lynn Vasquez. Prosecutors say the messages included a timeline of the victim’s final night, along with a Cash App receipt for a drug transaction.

While investigators awaited toxicology results, law enforcement agencies learned Richardson and Vasquez were still selling narcotics. The Warner Robins Police Department, working with the Houston County Sheriff’s Office and Perry Police Department, conducted several controlled fentanyl purchases before executing a search warrant at a home on Somerset Drive in Warner Robins. Investigators reported finding fentanyl packaged for sale inside the home.

Both Richardson and Vasquez were indicted in December 2023. Vasquez has also pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl and is awaiting sentencing.

Prosecutors said state law in effect at the time of the overdose prevented them from pursuing homicide charges in the case.

“This case began with a woman found dead in her own bedroom, killed by a substance that was knowingly sold into our community by this defendant,” District Attorney Edwards said. “That is not an abstract harm—it is lethal conduct with a measurable body count.”

According to data cited by the District Attorney’s Office, Houston County recorded 50 overdose deaths in 2023, followed by 28 in 2024, and 20 so far in 2025.