By admin 
A Lexington County man was the first to be convicted under South Carolina’s latest fentanyl law, which criminalizes fentanyl-induced deaths, according to the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
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Standing before Circuit Court Judge Debra McCaslin, Bradford Wayne Jovanelly, 46, pled guilty Thursday to fentanyl-induced homicide after a woman was found dead in her home from an accidental overdose last July, according to a news release.
“This first conviction and sentence under the new law show exactly what (the victim’s) death was – a homicide,” Assistant Solicitor Jordan Cox, who prosecuted the case, said in the release. “Our office, together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively prosecute those who choose to prey on our vulnerable residents and spread poison in our communities.”
Jovanelly’s conviction “is believed to be the first” under a law S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster signed into effect in May 2025. The law aims to attack drug dealers who, through their sell of fentanyl, cause fentanyl-induced deaths.
He was sentenced to 30 years — the maximum under the statue — in the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Jovanelly was also sentenced to a concurrent 25 years for trafficking methamphetamine, according to the release.
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After discovering the female victim on July 24, 2025, investigators were able to connect Jovanelly as the seller of the drug through phone communications between him and the victim, the release said.
An autopsy confirmed the woman died as a result of ingesting a fatal dose of fentanyl, according to the release.
Jovanelly was arrested at his home where police found more evidence of drug trafficking, the release said. At the time of his arrest, he admitted to selling the drug to the victim, and was out on bond for other felony drug offenses, including trafficking in fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to the release.
Jovanelly will be transported to the South Carolina Department of Corrections to serve his prison sentence, the release said.
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