Madison drug dealer sent to prison over fentanyl death

(MADISON, Ind.) – A Madison man is going to prison for dealing drugs that resulted in the death of the user. 

43-year-old Mark Anthony Smith was sentenced to 30 years in prison this week after being convicted of Dealing in A Controlled Substance Resulting in Death. 

38-year-old David Parks was in a recovery house when he was found dead in 2024. Toxicology  reports later determined that the cause of death was fentanyl, xylazine, and para-fluorofentanyl toxicity. 

Smith was later arrested and allegedly admitted to dealing fentanyl and methamphetamine. Police say they also found a large quantity of both drugs at the time of the arrest. 

“When individuals sell fentanyl and other illegal substances, it is a decision to gamble with other people’s lives. The outcome seen in this case, the loss of David Parks, is the heartbreaking reality.” said Jefferson County Prosecutor David Sutter. 

During the sentencing hearing, a member of Parks’ family delivered an emotional victim impact statement expressing the magnitude of their family’s loss, including the irreplaceable loss of a father for his two young children.

In an effort to curb overdoses and drug use, Indiana adopted a law in 2018 that allows prosecutors to charge people with felonies who deal a controlled substance that results in death. 

Smith’s conviction marks the first Dealing Resulting in Death conviction in Jefferson County.