Trial set to begin in case of man accused of selling fentanyl that led to fatal overdose in Newport Beach

Jury selection is tentatively scheduled to start Tuesday in the case of Sean Robert McLaughlin, a Mission Viejo man accused of dealing drugs out of a Newport Beach bar resulting in the death of one of his customers.

The defendant had been an employee at the now defunct American Junkie in Newport Beach, and he allegedly gave powdered fentanyl to four people who lost consciousness there on Nov. 18, 2016. They had stopped breathing and were taken to hospitals after paramedics were summoned at about 1 a.m.

One of them, identified as “A.S.” in court documents, died. Two others suffered serious bodily harm.

Prosecutors also accused McLaughlin of dealing MDMA, hydrocodone, cocaine and methamphetamine, according to court documents.

He had initially been charged by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office in December 2017. But that office agreed to hand the case over to federal officials, and the defendant was indicted on eight felony counts on May 12, 2021, U.S. Attorney’s officials wrote in a news release.

McLaughlin was arrested the following day. He was one of 12 people taken into custody as the result of an investigation led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who were suspected in 11 separate cases of selling lethal doses of fentanyl, U.S. Attorney’s officials said.

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