Spiva was scheduled to go on trial this week in Dayton’s U.S. District Court. A co-defendant, Charles M. McBeath, 33, pleaded guilty last week and will serve from 10 to 18 years in prison.
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As part of the plea deal, attorneys on both sides will recommend that Spiva serve a sentence from 12 to 18 years in prison. Those recommendations will be considered by U.S. District Judge Thomas Rose during April sentencing hearings.
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Both men were originally indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2015 on 12 counts and have remained in custody.
McBeath — who went by aliases such as “Fat Boy” and “Biggin” — and Spiva — aka “B” and “Snake” — were accused of running a drug distribution operation that allegedly operated from June 2014 to May 2015 at Dayton properties on East Fifth Street, South Torrence Street and South Horton Street.
Their distribution of fentanyl resulted in the overdose death of two individuals and the non-fatal overdose of at least three others from the same “toe-tag” heroin mentioned by Montgomery County Coroner’s Office officials.
In a Nov. 1, 2015 hearing, a Dayton police detective testified about the investigation of five overdoses and two deaths that happened Memorial Day weekend in 2015, according to court records.
The detective’s investigation concluded that the five people who overdosed had purchased drugs from Spiva and/or McBeath and that all were revived after receiving nalaxone.
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