Spc. Ryan Faubel, 24, provided fentanyl to Pfc. Ivan F. Rios Segui, 25, who died July 1, 2022, according Faubel’s charge sheet and the Office of Special Trial Counsel, which is prosecuting the case. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)
A Fort Campbell soldier has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide in the 2022 death of an Army private who died of a fentanyl overdose, according to court records.
Spc. Ryan Faubel, 24, provided fentanyl to Pfc. Ivan F. Rios Segui, 25, who died July 1, 2022, according Faubel’s charge sheet and the Office of Special Trial Counsel, which is prosecuting the case.
Faubel, of Youngstown, Ohio, pleaded not guilty at an arraignment hearing Nov. 14 before Military Judge Lt. Col. Daniel Mazzone at the Kentucky Army base. He is also charged with possession and distribution of fentanyl on July 1, 2022, and cocaine on May 25, 2022. He pleaded not guilty, according to the Army’s online court docket.
Faubel and Rios Segui, of New Haven, Conn., both served in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division, but in different battalions.
A photo of Pfc. Ivan F. Rios Segui. (Army)
The two-year delay in the charges stemmed from the investigative work required, said Michelle McCaskill, spokeswoman for the Office of Special Trial Counsel.
“The investigation in this case required forensic testing and analysis along with consultation with toxicology and digital forensics experts, which resulted in a longer investigation. It was not until completion of this testing that Spc. Faubel was identified as a subject,” she said.
At the time of the charges, Faubel was a private first class, according to the charge sheet. He is not in pretrial confinement and had been at Fort Campbell since October 2021.
Dan Higgins, an attorney for Faubel, said the case remains in the early stages and unanswered questions remain regarding Rios Segui’s death.
“According to data collected by [the Defense Department], Fort Campbell continues to struggle with drug overdoses,” Higgins said referencing data on overdose deaths in the military provided to Congress last year.
Fifteen soldiers died of a drug overdose at Fort Campbell between 2017 and 2021, according to the data. It was the second highest number of deaths at an Army installation.
During the five-year window of the data, 15,293 service members overdosed on drugs and alcohol and 332 died. More than half of those who died had taken fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is more potent than morphine, the report found.
Fentanyl, an approved pain medication being illegally produced and sold, is killing about 70,000 Americans each year, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Increasingly, fentanyl is mixed with other illicit drugs or used to replace another drug entirely so that users are expecting something else.
“While we agree the Army should take these cases very seriously to maintain a healthy fighting force, we believe they are looking for a scapegoat in Spc. Faubel,” Higgins said. “We look forward to defending Spc. Faubel and pursuing justice on his behalf.”
