LANCASTER, Pa. — A Lancaster man had his post-conviction petition denial confirmed by the Pennsylvania Superior Court on Wednesday.
Jose Morillo, 33, is currently serving a seven-to-15-year sentence for providing fentanyl to a Conestoga Township man in March of 2017, which the man fatally overdosed on.
Morillo, from the 600 block of Wyncroft Lane, pleaded guilty to drug delivery resulting in death and criminal use of a communication facility. He was sentenced on Aug. 26, 2019.
Following the conviction, Morillo filed a request for relief, claiming his lawyer was ineffective, he did not plead voluntarily to the charges, and the judge's sentence was excessive. The request was denied on May 27, 2020.
Morillo filed an appeal, but the initial ruling was affirmed by the state court on July 6, 2022.
The court noted in its memorandum that Morillo is entitled to no relief from his claim of unfair and excessive sentencing. They wrote that the defense counsel "ineffectively abandoned their strategy of cooperating with law enforcement in exchange for a sentence of four to eight years incarceration."
It was also noted that if Morillo hadn't agreed to the plea deal, he could have faced up to 47 years in prison.
At sentencing, Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Mark Fetterman described Morillo as a predatory dealer who profited off those suffering from addiction.
