ABERDEEN, S.D. – A single pill, split in half, had devastating consequences in Aberdeen — leaving one person dead and another facing 25 years behind bars.
Carlin Mellette, 29, of Mandan, North Dakota, was sentenced to a quarter-century in federal prison after pleading guilty to distributing fentanyl that led to a deadly overdose.
In Feb. 2023, Mellette arrived at a home in Aberdeen and gave a co-defendant three fentanyl-laced pills. Inside the residence, both the co-defendant and the victim ingested the pills. The victim consumed only half of one — but it was enough to be deadly.
Later that same day, Walworth County deputies attempted to pull Mellette over for speeding west of Aberdeen. Instead, he fled — leading authorities on a 26-mile high-speed chase, at times exceeding 100 mph. The pursuit ended when Mellette’s vehicle became stuck in a snowbank.
A search of the car uncovered 99 grams of methamphetamine, more fentanyl pills, digital scales, drug ledgers, other paraphernalia — and a loaded Ruger .45 caliber handgun.
According to KELOLAND Media Group, court documents state that Mellette and the co-defendant had told the victim they were buying Percocet, not fentanyl.
Mellette was indicted by a federal grand jury in Aug. 2023 and pleaded guilty a year later to Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death.
