CARTER COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the fatal fentanyl overdose of a 16-year-old in Carter County.

According to a news release from the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Jesse Calvin Felts II pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Monday in Carter County Criminal Court.

As part of his plea agreement, Felts will serve 18 years without the possibility of parole.

The murder charge stems from an overdose death that occurred on Dec. 6, 2022. The Carter County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on Steel Bridge Road, and an autopsy later confirmed the teen died due to fentanyl exposure.

A witness identified Felts as a possible suspect who may have sold the teenager drugs, the district attorney’s office stated. An investigation reportedly found Felts and the teenager had sent messages to arrange a drug sale on the day the juvenile died.

Felts was also charged in a fentanyl conspiracy case that resulted in 10 people being charged. As part of his plea agreement, the conspiracy case against him was dismissed so long as he accepted the 18-year sentence without a possibility of parole.

Felts also pleaded guilty to a fentanyl possession charge that stemmed from an Elizabethton Police Department arrest on May 10, 2023. Elizabethton police reported Felts had fentanyl on his person when he was arrested for the murder charge.

Felts received a six-year sentence for the fentanyl possession, which will run concurrently to the 18 years.

According to the district attorney’s office, Felts has been in the Carter County Detention Center since January 14, 2024. His bond was revoked after he did not appear in court earlier that month. Before that failure to appear, a motion had been filed to revoke his bond due to evidence suggesting Felts was still selling fentanyl.