BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Angel Lewis Leffingwell, age 39, has been sentenced after pleading guilty to manslaughter and other charges related to a fentanyl overdose death of a Whatcom County Jail inmate in March.
Leffingwell pled guilty to the felony charges of 2nd-degree manslaughter, unlawful delivery of fentanyl, and unlawful possession of fentanyl with intent to deliver. He also pled guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of driving while under the influence (DUI). He is sentenced to 47.5 months for the manslaughter charge, 40 months for the unlawful delivery charge and unlawful possession charges each and 1 day for the DUI charge. All sentences are to be served concurrently with credit for time served while awaiting trial according to court documents.
The initial investigation into the death found that on the day of the overdoses, Leffingwell was awaiting trial after being arrested February 25th following a high-speed pursuit in heavy rain that ended with the driver fleeing the vehicle after crashing into a light pole and a power pole.
On February 26th, Leffingwell was found to have pills suspected to be fentanyl while in custody at the jail and subsequently charged with felony possession of a controlled substance by a prisoner. This charge was dismissed as part of the plea deal.
On March 13th, Leffingwell was the only inmate in the housing common area while all other inmates were in their respective cells. He went back and forth between his cell and the cell where the victim and his cellmate were housed. An uninvolved inmate pushed an alert to summon jail corrections officers who arrived to find the victim and his cellmate unconscious and non-responsive. Lifesaving measures were unsuccessful in reviving the victim and were successful in enabling the other cellmate to be transported to PeaceHealth St Joseph Medical Center for treatment.
Leffingwell has 2 prior felony convictions: 1st-degree assault and 2nd-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, both out of Skagit County.
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