A Stroudsburg man, who sold a concoction of heroin, fentanyl and xylazine to a woman who died of an overdose in 2023, has been sentenced to serve 7 1/2 to 15 years in prison.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the sentence for Joseph R. Bleiler, 29, on Wednesday.

Bleiler pleaded guilty in May to charges of involuntary manslaughter and possession with intent to deliver. Sunday said he was sentenced to the maximum penalties allowed by law on the charges.

The charges stem from an incident in July 2023, when Stroud Area Regional Police were called to an apartment in Stroudsburg for an unresponsive female. The victim went into cardiac arrest and died on the way to the hospital, after which time the cause of death was determined to be fentanyl, heroin and xylazine toxicity.

Sunday said xylazine is a potent tranquilizer commonly used as a cutting agent to increase profits for dealers. He said Naloxone (Narcan) has no impact on a person who ingests xylazine.

Investigators found one used plastic bag and one full plastic bag of powder that tested positive for fentanyl, heroin and xylazine, and determined the baggies were obtained from Bleiler.

“Those distributing deadly poisons in our communities will face the full consequences of those actions,” the attorney general said. “Fighting to keep these substances out of Pennsylvania neighborhoods is a core function of the Office of Attorney General. Every life lost is a tragedy that will be forever felt by that person’s loved ones.”

During the sentencing hearing, the victim’s sister told the court her sister was “so full of life no matter what her situation was, she was always happy enough to make someone else feel happiness, too.”