(Lawrenceville, Ga., 6/20/25) – A Dacula man pled guilty to murder and drug charges after the Fentanyl-laced drugs he sold led to a fatal overdose.

Benjamin Michael Hosler, 28, pled guilty to felony murder, two counts of trafficking in illegal drugs (Fentanyl), violation of Georgia’s Controlled Substance Act, and three counts of illegal use of a communication facility in connection with the September 2021 death of 24-year-old Dylan Smith. Hosler was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

“We constantly remind our community that it only takes one instance of Fentanyl use to end in tragedy,” District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. “This defendant laced Fentanyl in the illegal drugs that he sold to the victim, and it turned out to be deadly. We cannot bring this victim back, but we hope this outcome helps his family and loved ones to heal from this loss.”

On Sept. 18, Smith’s mother called Gwinnett County Police when she found him deceased in his bedroom with a depressed syringe in his hand. Police responding to the scene found 0.3 grams of a light-brown chunky substance in a distinctive wrapping on his nightstand that tested positive for Fentanyl. Investigators reviewed Smith’s phone and found a chain of text messages between him and the defendant from the day before he was discovered dead. Smith had asked the defendant for heroin and Xanax. Both substances were laced with Fentanyl.

Undercover officers contacted Hosler on three different occasions between October 2021 and December 2021 and purchased varying amounts of heroin. Each time, the purchased drug was delivered in the same distinctive wrapping as what was found in Smith’s room, and each time the drugs tested positive for Fentanyl. During the undercover operations, investigators found evidence confirming Hosler’s knowledge of sales and the overdose issues. Police arrested Hosler on January 24, 2022.

When trial began this week, during opening statements, the jury and the defendant heard a recording of his voice, answering the phone as “Fentanyl Enterprises.” The jury and the defendant also saw police body camera footage of the officers who responded to Smith’s overdose. The defendant subsequently pled guilty.

Gwinnett DA’s Drug & Gang Task Force Managing Assistant District Attorney Ryan Smith and DGTF Assistant District Attorney Brian Trepanier prosecuted the case with assistance from Victim Advocate Sussy Key, and DGTF Investigators Doug Loomis, John Wilbanks, Yayoi Huggins, Kristy Llewellyn, and David Brucz. The Gwinnett County Police Department and the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner were invaluable in closing the case.