Alleged drug-ring leader pleads not guilty in opioid death

Alleged drug-ring leader pleads not guilty in opioid death

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah man accused of running a multimillion operation selling powerful opioids disguised as prescription drugs has pleaded not guilty to new charges filed in an overdose death.

Court records show Aaron Michael Shamo entered the plea Tuesday. Prosecutors say a person identified as R.K. died in June 2016 after taking fentanyl Shamo sold disguised as the less-powerful drug oxycodone.

Defense attorney Greg Skordas has called the counts “incredibly disappointing and unjustified.”

Shamo is accused of making the pills in his suburban basement and selling them on the internet’s dark web to people all over the country, at one point raking in $2.8 million in less than a year.

Prosecutors have struck plea deals with others accused in the drug ring. A trial is set for Jan. 22.