A member of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe who sold a fatal dose of heroin to a young Quileute Tribal member was sentenced Monday to 3½ years in prison, U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes announced.

Casey Marie Ward, 28, and two co-defendants sold heroin to 28-year-old Felisha Jackson on Sept. 5, 2015, according to prosecutors. Moments after that sale, Jackson was found unresponsive by her 9-year-old daughter, prosecutors said. Paramedics tried to save Jackson, but she died a few days later at a hospital.

Social media records reveal that Ward had reached out to Jackson, asking if she knew anyone interested in buying drugs – it was that contact that led to Ward delivering the fatal dose, prosecutors said.

At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said, “It is important that the message go out that if you are going to engage in this type of activity and someone dies as a result, you will receive a significant prison term … A person lost their life. … Those who are addicted and using are playing a game of Russian roulette. There will be a bullet in the chamber and somebody is going to die.”

“The heroin epidemic is taking a particularly heavy toll in tribal communities, so we are working closely with our tribal partners to do our part to combat opioid abuse,” Hayes said. “Cases involving small amounts of heroin are not routinely charged in federal court, but in appropriate cases where dealing on tribal lands leads to death, we are committed to seeking just punishment. As tribes work to provide treatment and wellness resources, law enforcement must do its part to deter those who target tribal communities and cause tragedies like those in this case.”

According to records filed in the case, Felisha Jackson had struggled to stay clean for her three small children. Another drug user said the heroin sold by Ward and her co-defendants proved particularly powerful, records said. After Jackson’s daughter found her mother unresponsive, she got her grandfather, and he performed CPR in an ultimately futile effort to save his daughter, according to records.

Ward too has a history of substance abuse. Judge Settle recommended that she receive drug treatment in prison and as part of her supervised release following incarceration.

Members of the Quileute Tribal Council submitted a statement to the court and attended the sentencing hearing.

“Our community was devastated by the death of Felisha Jackson, a 28-year-old mother of three,” the Tribal Council wrote.

It further explained that “(t)he Quileute Tribe is attempting to stem the tide of substance abuse in several ways, including coordinating with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies …, providing chemical dependency treatment and working on several initiatives to promote wellness and prevent addiction.”

Co-defendants Hugh Brown and Edward Foster are scheduled for sentencing later this month.

The FBI and the Quileute Tribal Police investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Manheim prosecuted the case.