Ashland, KY — Angelo Dre Clifton, 29, faces federal charges for his involvement in the sale of fentanyl-laced heroin that led to a fatal overdose in July 2019. A federal grand jury formally indicted him on Thursday on charges of distributing fentanyl causing death and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.
Clifton had previously been indicted at the state level by a Boyd County grand jury in March 2022. Those charges included second-degree manslaughter, first-offense heroin trafficking, first-offense methamphetamine trafficking with a second-degree persistent felony offender sentence enhancer.
The case faced delays in the state court due to its transfer to federal jurisdiction, and Clifton was already incarcerated in West Virginia on drug-related charges.
The federal indictment alleges that Clifton, also known as "Yung Drizzle" and "OG Drizzle Ru," knowingly distributed a substance, identified as heroin in previous reports, that contained a detectable amount of fentanyl, ultimately leading to the overdose death of the victim. Former Sheriff Bobby Jack Woods stated in earlier reports that the heroin was laced with the potent acetyl fentanyl.
The state-level case against Clifton remains active, and if convicted, he could face a pending multi-year prison sentence.
At the federal level, Clifton's charges carry a maximum punishment of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
Clifton is scheduled to appear in Boyd County Circuit Court on October 6, while the arraignment in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Kentucky has yet to be scheduled.
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