KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two more defendants were sentenced this month to more than nine years in prison for their roles in a 2-year-old Johnson County, Kansas, child’s death from a fentanyl overdose.
On Tuesday, March 14, a Johnson County judge sentenced Jared Barraza to just more than nine years in prison in connection with the deadly overdose.
Earlier in month, the father of the child that died, Jean Pierre Morales was sentenced to nearly 14 years in prison.
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They are the final two defendants connected to the 2021 case to be sentenced.
In February, the child’s mother, Shelly Christine Vallejo was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after pleading guilty last December to second degree murder.
Prior to his sentencing Tuesday, Barazza pleaded guilty in January 2023 to distribution of drugs that caused the death of the child.
Pierre Morales pleaded guilty to a similar charge last November.
Last fall,the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department said a toddler was among four people who had recently died from fentanyl overdoses.
A KSHB 41 special 360 report on fentanyl overdoses among children detailed the devastating effects of overdoses on families and the community.
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