Man gets max sentence for voluntary manslaughter after selling fentanyl-laced pills

A Las Vegas man was sentenced on Tuesday to up to 10 years in prison for selling the fentanyl-laced pills that his friend fatally overdosed on.

Edward Romero-Cordero, 29, was initially facing a second-degree murder charge for selling the pills that led to the death of 32-year-old Shane Bowman, but he pleaded guilty in October to a felony charge of voluntary manslaughter. According to an arrest report, Bowman was hospitalized and died about nine hours after buying approximately $200 worth of pills that were laced with fentanyl on Feb. 21, 2021.

Bowman thought he was buying Percocet from Romero-Cordero, but he overdosed after taking only half of a laced pill, Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Schwartzer said during a sentencing hearing on Tuesday. He said the sentence Romero-Cordero received was the highest possible for voluntary manslaughter.

Defense attorney Erick Ferran told the judge that the two men were friends, and that Romero-Cordero was in the midst of his own addiction when he sold the pills to Bowman.

“That half a pill could have easily been him,” Ferran said.

Romero-Cordero was quiet during the hearing, and stood with his head lowered as District Judge Jacqueline Bluth sentenced him to between four and 10 years in prison.

“I’d just like to say sorry for everything that’s happened, and the people who have been hurt in this situation,” he said before the judge ordered the sentence.

Bowman’s wife, Meli Bowman, recounted to the judge how she found her husband passed out on her bathroom floor after he took the pill.

“The scream that escaped the depths of my soul, no one — and I mean no one — should ever have to feel that,” Meli Bowman said on Tuesday.

Bowman’s family who spoke during the hearing described him as joyful man who loved to go on adventures. Meli Bowman said he operated a janitorial company and enjoyed rock climbing around Las Vegas.

His mother, Ronda Bowman, said that her son lived across the street from her during the last few years of his life, and that her family hasn’t been the same since his death.

“I am blessed by the life he lived, but I cry for the one that he didn’t,” she said.

Romero-Cordero was one of a handful of people who have faced murder charges in fatal overdoses in recent years, although none of the defendants have gone to trial or been convicted of a murder charge.

The Nevada Legislature is currently considering bills that would establish penalties for trafficking in fentanyl, based on the amount of the drug found in a person’s possession.

Following the hearing on Tuesday, Ronda Bowman said she thought it was fair that Romero-Cordero was sentenced to the maximum penalty for the charge he pleaded to.

“It would have been nice to have it be higher,” she said, adding that she hopes lawmakers will increase sentences for fentanyl-related crimes.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.