COEUR d’ALENE — A man who prosecutors say is connected to a mass overdose at the Kootenai County jail received a prison sentence in a separate drug-related case.

Raymond D. Spezzi, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of delivery of heroin, seven counts of possession of heroin with intent to deliver and possession of major contraband, all felonies. 

First District Judge Casey Simmons sentenced Spezzi last week to 15 years in prison with parole eligibility after four years. 

The charges stem from 2016, according to the Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, when undercover officers used a confidential informant to purchase heroin from Spezzi. 

After a grand jury indicted Spezzi in 2017 and a judge issued a warrant for his arrest, Spezzi evaded arrest for eight years. He was eventually apprehended in South Carolina in 2025, according to prosecutors. 

In December, less than a month after he was booked into the Kootenai County jail, Spezzi was charged with possession of major contraband after six people, including Spezzi, overdosed on fentanyl. 

All six inmates were transported to Kootenai Health for treatment and then returned to jail. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said it would investigate how the fentanyl got into the jail. 

Prosecutors said Spezzi’s criminal history includes convictions for possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a firearm and several probation violations.