HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Superior Court denied a Lancaster man's request for a shorter prison sentence for providing fentanyl-laced heroin to a Lancaster County man who died of an overdose in 2017.
Jose Marillo pleaded guilty to felony drug delivery resulting in death charges related to the overdose death of a Conestoga Township man in 2017. He was sentenced to seven to 15 years in prison by Lancaster County Judge Jeffrey Wright.
In his request for relief of that sentence, Morillo, now 31, claimed the prison term as "harsh and excessive," the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office said.
Morillo also claimed his lawyer was ineffective and that he did not plead voluntarily, the DA's office said.
The state court, in a nine-page opinion, rejected those claims, finding that Morillo was properly questioned during the plea hearing about his plea being voluntary – Morillo told the judge it was.
Also, the state court wrote in its opinion, the judge’s sentence was within the standard range of state sentencing guidelines and considered a pre-sentence investigation report about Morillo.
A prosecutor at sentencing said Morillo was a predatory dealer who profited from those suffering from addiction.
