A 101st Airborne Division soldier pleaded guilty to selling a fellow soldier fentanyl-laced pills that killed him.
Spc. Ryan J. Faubel, 24 pleaded guilty to the negligent homicide in the death of Pfc. Ivan F. Rios-Segui, 25. According to charging sheets, Faubel sold fentanyl-laced Percocet, a brand-name painkiller medication, to Rios-Segui on the day of his death.
Rios-Segui died July 1, 2022, while stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He was an Infantryman assigned to the 101st Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team. Rios-Segui joined the Army in September 2019 and arrived at Fort Campbell in April 2020. His awards included the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
Faubel, an infantryman with the 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, was sentenced by a military judge on April 28 to one year in prison and directed to forfeit his pay and allowances under a plea deal. He was discharged with bad conduct from the Army.
According to the Army, Rios-Segui failed to show up for work on July 1, leading his squad leader to try to contact him for hours before going to his home on base. When no one answered the door, the squad leader contacted military police, who found Rios-Segui unresponsive. Emergency medical personnel declared him dead at the scene.
When Army investigators reviewed Rios-Segui’s phone after he died, they found SnapChat conversations that indicated Faubel had sold him fentanyl-laced pills earlier that day.
Rios-Segui grew up in New Haven, Connecticut and Puerto Rico, according to an online obituary posted by the North Haven Funeral Home. Rios-Segui, it said, “loved people and was a very social man” who enjoyed making others smile. “He was a meme collector and loved to tell a good joke,” the obit said. Rios-Segui liked going to the shooting range to “blow off a little steam,” watching anime, swimming, fishing and gaming. He was a lover of “American muscle cars”, according to the obituary.
“This case highlights the devastating consequences and significant risks of drug use by servicemembers and members of the public, especially in a time when Fentanyl has become an increasingly rampant and widespread danger,” Capt. Tyler Loontjer, a prosecutor with the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, said in a release.
Faubel joined the Army in August 2020 and arrived at Fort Campbell in May 2021. He had no deployments. His awards included the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and the Air Assault Badge.
Faubel faced four charges for wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, which included fentanyl and cocaine, and another for violating good order and discipline, which were dismissed under the plea deal. He is in confinement at Fort Campbell and awaiting a transfer to military prison, according to Army officials.
“Spc. Faubel’s plea takes responsibility for the tragic death that resulted from his actions and delivers justice in this case amid the nation’s ongoing Fentanyl crisis,” said Army prosecutor Capt. Kirby Ammons. “This resolution marks an important first step in the healing process for Pfc. Rios-Segui’s family and Spc. Faubel, while sending a clear message that those who distribute dangerous substances within our ranks will be held accountable.”
In April, the Department of Defense said in a release that fatal overdoses of active duty service members involving fentanyl “reached a seven-year low” in 2023. The release referenced a Congressionally-mandated report that reviewed cases between 2019 and 2023, and found that fatal overdoses among troops averaged 4.4 out of 100,000 people. Across the U.S., the fatal overdose rate was 29.2 per 100,000 people.
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