Two former San Diego sailors pleaded guilty this week to selling pills laced with fentanyl to fellow sailors, federal prosecutors said.
Bailey Szramowski, 29, and Johnnese Poomaihealani, 25, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, according to the San Diego assistant U.S. attorney, Keith Ellison.
The pair were assigned to the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln where, in 2022, Szramowski routinely sold pills to sailors — including during deployment, one witness told investigators.
Szramowski and Poomaihealani are married, the U.S. Attorney's Office told KPBS.
In December 2022, Szramowski sold counterfeit oxycodone pills to an unnamed sailor who later died by overdose.
Prosecutors say Szramowski then sold pills to another sailor knowing they had already proven deadly.
The second sailor also overdosed and was hospitalized. They then agreed to cooperate with authorities, court records say.
Szramowski faces a minimum of five to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine.
Poomaihealani faces up to 20 years and a $1 million fine, prosecutors said.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 11.
