Three Sentenced in Mississippi Fentanyl Death of Navy Sailor: Ringleader Gets 157 Months
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi announced on November 12 that three defendants who supplied fentanyl-laced drugs to an active-duty U.S. Navy sailor, causing his death, have been sentenced in federal court: Clayton Faubion, 37, received 157 months in prison, Michael Nix, 43, received 84 months, and Augustina Dahilig, 36, received 14 months for misprision of a felony. The case arose in Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi, where the sailor, identified in court documents as S.K., died in April 2022.
According to court documents, on the evening of April 15, 2022, the three defendants met S.K. and two fellow service members at a bar in Gulfport. Faubion and Nix left to obtain a controlled substance from a dealer known to Nix, and Faubion then provided the substance to S.K. and one of his fellow sailors. Within minutes of ingesting it, S.K. became unconscious and began snoring. At about 9:42 p.m., Faubion and Dahilig drove the unconscious sailor to an apartment complex, where he remained inside Faubion's vehicle until about 11:40 p.m., when the two other sailors took him to a hospital. He had no pulse when he arrived at the emergency room.
S.K. was declared brain dead on April 21, 2022, and was removed from life support. A toxicology report found cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine, fentanyl, and alcohol in his system, and a medical toxicologist who reviewed his medical records, bar surveillance footage, and investigative files concluded that his death was caused specifically by acute fentanyl intoxication, from the substance sourced and supplied by Nix and Faubion.
Within a month of the victim's death, Dahilig learned that Nix was telling others the drugs had been given to S.K. by Faubion, and she confronted Nix at work and told him to stop discussing the incident. In interviews with federal agents in Nevada in March and May 2023, Dahilig lied about Faubion's involvement, concealed the group's travel after visiting Nix's home that night, and tried to place sole blame on Nix.
A federal grand jury charged all three defendants in a two-count indictment filed on July 29, 2025. Nix and Faubion previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance resulting in death, and Dahilig pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony. Faubion was also fined $12,000, and the three will serve supervised release terms of five years, five years, and one year after prison; there is no parole in the federal system. U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger said those who distribute fentanyl will be held accountable. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), the Gulfport Police Department, and the Harrison County Sheriff's Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Buckner.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国司法部总部大楼（四级图库联邦核心包固定图）。 / Image: U.S. Department of Justice headquarters building (fixed image from the federal core asset pack).
