In the first Santa Clarita Valley case from the Sheriff’s Department’s Opioid Overdose Response Task Force to go to trial, a federal judge Monday meted out a 188-month sentence, more than three years above what prosecutors had requested.  Dominick Alvarado, 22, of Tarzana, pleaded guilty in November to two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.  “U.S. District Judge John F. Walter today sentenced (Alvarado) to 188 months (15 years and eight months) in federal prison and ordered him to pay $41,271 in restitution,” according to an email from Ciaran McEvoy, public information officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  The maximum sentence based on Alvarado’s initial charges was 40 years, McEvoy wrote in November, adding then that “the prosecution has agreed to seek no more than 12 years in prison at sentencing,” and also, “The court is not bound by this agreement.”  The task force that investigated Alvarado, which included local detectives, ultimately was able to link the San Fernando Valley resident to two of the more than 30 local deaths attributed to fentanyl overdoses in 2022: Alyssa Dies, 17, and Cameron Kouleyan, 18.  Kouleyan died inside his family’s Saugus home in July. Dies was found after an overdose at Central Park during the city’s summer Concerts at the Park series.  Sheriff’s Department investigators with the county’s task force said they sought federal prosecution for the cases because the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office refused to pursue second-degree murder charges in the deaths.  Officials said all of the cases from the task force are being federally designated, so more federal charges are pending.  Court documents obtained by The Signal indicated detectives believe Dies, who lived in Canyon Country, had watched a movie at the Valencia mall before taking half of a pill that was laced with fentanyl with one other person.  First responders administered two doses of Narcan around 9 p.m. before performing CPR on Dies. Her pulse returned and she was transported to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, but she died just before midnight.  Sheriff’s Department officials reported that Kouleyan was found by his family members.  The post Judge tops prosecutor request in fentanyl sentence  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.