Rolling Hills Man Sentenced To 20 Years For Teen's Fentanyl Death

ROLLING HILLS, CA — A man who sold pills laced with a fatal dose of fentanyl to a 15-year-old Rolling Hills Estates boy on Snapchat was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on Friday.

Alexander Declan Bell Wilson, 23, of Rolling Hills, was found guilty of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death on May 19 after a five-day trial. Wilson was also ordered to pay $2,364 in restitution and will be placed on supervised release for 12 years following his release from prison.

“After [the victim’s] death, [Wilson] showed no remorse for his crimes,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “To the contrary, he lied to police about his conduct, deleted incriminating evidence from his phone, and minimized his role in the offense. Indeed, [Wilson] blamed [the victim] for his own death, boasting that [the victim] ‘did that to himself.’”

See related: Rolling Hills Man Guilty In Fentanyl Death Of 15-Year-Old Boy

The case stems from the May 15, 2020 death of Nathan Young-Nichols. The night before, Wilson sold five pills containing fentanyl to Nathan, according to prosecutors. According to evidence presented in court, Nathan believed the pills he bought were pharmaceutical pills that contained oxycodone.

At about 11:30 p.m. on the night of May 14, Nathan's 13-year-old brother met Wilson outside the family's home, where Wilson handed the boy the pills in a plastic bag through the window of Wilson's car, prosecutors said. The 13-year-old took the bag back into the house and gave his brother the pills.

After receiving the pills, Nathan posted a photo of them on his Snapchat and then ingested them, according to authorities. From there, the DOJ said Nathan and Wilson argued for almost four hours about the proper way to consume the pills.

"During those chats, Wilson chastised [Nathan] for chewing the pills, and then shared screenshots of their conversation with his Snapchat followers," the DOJ said in a statement.

Nathan's grandmother found the boy dead in his bedroom the next morning. Testimony from forensic experts during the trial confirmed that fentanyl poisoning was the sole cause of Nathan's death, according to the Justice Department.