Union, South Carolina – A man from Union County will spend more than a decade behind bars after a federal judge handed down a sentence tied to the distribution of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that continues to fuel overdose deaths across communities.
Dezmond Tobias Tucker, 31, of Union, was sentenced to 131 months in federal prison after investigators determined he had been involved in selling fentanyl pills. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Jacquelyn D. Austin and will be followed by three years of court-ordered supervision once Tucker completes his prison term. Because the case was handled in federal court, the sentence does not include the possibility of parole.
Authorities say the investigation began to build momentum in October 2023. During that time, investigators with the Union Police Department, working alongside agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, conducted an undercover operation. During the controlled purchase, Tucker was caught selling fentanyl pills directly to investigators, a transaction that ultimately became a key piece of evidence in the federal case.
The investigation also uncovered troubling connections to an earlier tragedy. Tucker had previously been linked to the sale of fentanyl to a 20-year-old woman from Spartanburg who later died from a fentanyl overdose in December 2022. While the sentencing focused on the drug distribution charges, the case highlighted the deadly consequences that illegal fentanyl trafficking can carry.
The probe continued into the following year. In March 2024, federal agents executed a search warrant at the home where Tucker had been living. During the search, authorities recovered a firearm, which Tucker later agreed to forfeit as part of the case.
Federal officials emphasized that the investigation represented a joint effort between local and federal law enforcement. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration together with the Union Police Department, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Schoen handled the prosecution in federal court.
With the sentencing now complete, Tucker faces more than ten years in federal custody, marking the conclusion of a case built through coordinated investigative work and undercover enforcement efforts targeting the spread of fentanyl in the region.
