EVANSVILLE — A federal judge sentenced a Henderson, Kentucky, man on Thursday to serve 23 years in prison for selling fentanyl that investigators linked to two deaths.

The sentencing comes after Elijah Lovell, 20, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of dealing in fentanyl resulting in death, court records show.

A federal grand jury first indicted Lovell in October 2022, when he was 18 years old, in connection with two fatal overdose deaths that had caught the attention of local, and then federal, law enforcement.

The first death reportedly tied to Lovell’s fentanyl occurred between the dates of Dec. 27, 2021, and Jan. 31, 2022, according to the indictment, and the second overdose allegedly occurred “on or about May 5, 2022.”

Federal court records refer to the overdose victims by their initials, J.H. and C.G., and certain documents remained under seal as of Friday, including Lovell’s “sealed supplemental plea agreement.”

According to public court records, the 23-year sentence handed down by Chief District Court Judge Greg N. Stivers fell within the range proposed by prosecutors after Lovell agreed to plead guilty.

Stivers ordered that Lovell undergo supervision for 5 years upon his release from federal prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Dahl prosecuted the case.

Michael Bennett, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, said the sentence should “serve notice to those who traffic drugs,” adding that federal law enforcement would “aggressively investigate and prosecute” those involved in the fentanyl trade.

Houston can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Judge sentences Elijah Lovell of Kentucky for causing fentanyl deaths