Justin Domino
A man police said is a well-known Chattanooga drug dealer has been given a 12-year prison sentence after an alleged client died of a drug overdose.
Justin Domino, who was 31 at the time of the overdose in July 2019, allegedly sold the heroin that 22-year-old Tanner Wade overdosed on.
Domino pleaded guilty to facilitation to commit second-degree murder.
He also got 10 years for possession of heroin for resale and three years for possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.
An autopsy performed on the victim found fentanyl and meth in his system. This mixture of drugs is known to be sold by Domino, police said.
Domino admitted he was in the same room as the victim, along with six other friends, during a party on July 1, 2019. He described the party as “having a good time.” Domino admitted to giving people heroin, but said he gave the substance out free of charge.
The party was at the Marriott Courtyard at Hamilton Place on Bams Drive, police said.
Police said Domino is an unemployed heroin dealer, and does not give out the drug for free. Domino said he and a female friend passed out at 10 p.m. and did not wake up until 12 hours later.
When they awoke, everyone else had left the hotel room, he said. When Domino went to the bathroom, he found the victim curled up in the floor. Domino said he knew the victim was already deceased. He fled the scene and never returned to the hotel.
A few hours later, the female companion called police to notify them of a “mysterious unknown person” in their hotel bathroom.
The Chattanooga Police Department Narcotics and Neighborhood Policing Units worked together to make the arrest, it was stated.
Tanner Wade was from Ooltewah. He attended East Hamilton High School where he played football and graduated in 2015.
He left behind a three-year-old son.