Fentanyl Dealer Sentenced to Sixteen Years in Federal Prison After Fatal Overdose of Indianapolis Woman

INDIANAPOLIS- Arieon Lofton, 27, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to 16 years and two months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

According to court documents, on July 26, 2025, the victim, identified as "J.A.," began texting an unsaved phone number to arrange a trade involving suboxone strips and Xanax. The following day, J.A. agreed to exchange 150 suboxone strips for 15 Xanax bars, $50, and a gram of "slow." On July 30, 2025, a friend discovered J.A. unresponsive inside her apartment. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators recovered text messages arranging the drug transaction between J.A. and a phone number registered to Valencia Griffin. Griffin is currently incarcerated in the Indiana Department of Correction, serving an 11-year sentence for dealing a narcotic drug, and did not physically possess the phone at the time the messages were sent.

However, investigators uncovered multiple three-way calls involving Griffin; her boyfriend, Martell Marshall, who is also incarcerated; and Arieon Lofton, who was not in custody. A subpoena revealed that the phone number used in the drug deal consistently pinged at an apartment belonging to Lofton's girlfriend.

On August 21, 2025, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers and the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a search warrant for the phone. When officers arrived, Lofton initially approached the door but retreated into a bedroom instead of answering. His girlfriend eventually allowed officers inside. While searching for the phone, officers observed marijuana, burnt joints, and two white pills in plain view. They subsequently obtained a State of Indiana search warrant to search the residence for narcotics.

Inside the master bedroom, officers located four active cell phones plugged in, along with five additional phones in a bathroom drawer. They also recovered two 9mm Taurus firearms, $2,573 in cash stored in shoeboxes, approximately 400 grams of fentanyl, more than 1,000 counterfeit Xanax pills, one pound of marijuana, a pill press, and multiple bottles of lactose hidden inside the dishwasher. Suboxone strips prescribed to J.A. were also found in the dishwasher. Forensic analysis confirmed that substances recovered from the dishwasher contained 327.09 grams of acetyl fentanyl and 66.92 grams of fentanyl.

The fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl supplied by Lofton led to J.A.'s fatal overdose. Investigators found no other drug-related conversations on J.A.'s phone besides those with Lofton, and records showed she had been purchasing narcotics from him since at least March 10, 2025. The coroner determined that J.A. died from acute mixed drug intoxication, with bromazolam, acetyl fentanyl, and fentanyl present in her system.

At the time of the offense, Lofton was on supervised release following a 22-month federal sentence for attempted robbery. He also has previous convictions for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, driving while suspended and false identity.

"My thoughts are with J.A.'s loved ones as they continue to grieve an unimaginable loss. Lofton's actions showed a clear disregard for human life, and the consequences were devastating. It is impossible to know how many others might have been harmed had investigators not acted when they did," said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. "Lofton's actions were not a mistake-they were a deliberate pattern of choices that cost a young woman her life, and he will now spend years in federal prison answering for every one of them."

The Drug Enforcement Administration and IMPD investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Justin R. Olson.

U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter A. Blackett, who prosecuted this case.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, as little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal, depending on a person's body size, tolerance, and past usage-a tiny amount that can fit on the tip of a pencil. Seven out of ten illegal fentanyl tablets seized from U.S. streets and analyzed by the DEA have been found to contain a potentially lethal dose of the drug.

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