Man Convicted in Girlfriend's Heroin Death

19-year-old woman among four deaths connected to Virginia heroin ring

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A Centreville man involved in a suburban heroin ring has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for supplying the drugs that resulted in the overdose death of his girlfriend.

Twenty-year-old Skylar Schnippel is the last of 16 defendants to be sentenced for involvement in a northern Virginia drug ring that resulted in four overdose deaths, including the death of his girlfriend, 19-year-old Alicia Lannes, in March 2008.

Most of those charged were former or current students at Westfield High School.

The 20-year sentence was the minimum term the judge could impose.

According to testimony at Schnippel's trial in U.S. District Court, Lannes had overdosed three previous times but Schnippel continued to give her heroin.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us