When Will Schultz was arrested in 2022, his former wife felt relieved for him. She’d always feared that Schultz, a risk-taker who struggled with methamphetamine addiction, might put himself in harm’s way. But for now, she didn’t have to worry. “I knew that he was going to be safe,” Ashley Schultz said in a recent interview. But Will Schultz, it turned out, was not safe in the Marion County Jail. Schultz, 33, of Hillsboro, overdosed on fentanyl in November 2022 while in jail. He died in his cell. The inmate who provided him the drugs, Samuel L. Grill, 33, of Salem, pleaded guilty on Nov. 1 in Marion County Circuit Court to delivery of fentanyl and supplying contraband. Prosecutors dropped a charge of fentanyl possession as part of his plea deal. Marion County Circuit Judge Pro Tem Matthew Tracey sentenced Grill that same day to a year and a half in prison. He can receive credit for time served and will be under post-prison supervision for two years. Grill was not charged with causing Schultz’s death. Under Oregon law, it is “extremely difficult” for prosecutors to charge drug dealers with causing an overdose death, Marion County Deputy District Attorney Brendan Murphy said after Grill’s arrest in April. At the sentencing last Friday, the only mention of Schultz’s death came from Grill’s defense attorney, Michelle Vlach-Ing, who is trailing in a race for Marion County Circuit judge in the general election. “This incident resulted in the death of an (adult in custody),” Vlach-Ing said at the hearing, referring to Schultz. Schultz and Grill were assigned to neighboring cells at the time of the overdose, according to Murphy. During the investigation, Grill accused another inmate of bringing the fentanyl into the jail. “The investigation was not able to substantiate that accusation,” Murphy said. In entering his guilty plea, Grill admitted to smuggling the drugs into the jail. While Grill’s case was pending, he was released from jail, failed to appear for court proceedings and was arrested on a warrant six times. His release agreements described him as “transient.” Grill has previously pleaded guilty to heroin possession, theft, giving false information to a peace officer and second-degree escape, according to Marion County court records. He escaped in 2020 from the Marion County Transition Center, a minimum-security alternative to jail where people work jobs or do community service. Grill declined to make a statement during the sentencing. He was transferred on Tuesday to the custody of the state Department of Corrections, according to the agency’s roster. Will Schultz (Ashley Schultz) Ashley Schultz said she feels torn about Grill’s sentence. “What is a year and half?” she said. “That’s almost like a slap in the face.” On the other hand, she said she understands that the sentence is typical for someone convicted only of drug charges. “Either way, it’s not going to change anything,” she said. Grill was first arrested on April 10 after Marion County officials stayed silent for over a year about the Schultz death.  A Salem Reporter investigation earlier this year found that county officials have made little effort to stop the illegal trafficking of drugs into the jail even after two inmates fatally overdosed in 2021 and 2022. Before Schultz’s November 2022 death, another inmate died in July 2021. Frederic Ferguson, 24, suffered an apparent fatal overdose on oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl which he consumed while he was in his cell. At the time, such fake pills were being distributed throughout Ferguson’s jail pod, Marion County prosecutors said in a later court filing. Ashley Schultz said her former husband struggled with methamphetamine addiction since getting out of prison in 2015.  The couple divorced in 2020, but they still cared for each other and kept in touch. Ashley said no matter what she needed help with, Will was there for her, whether to provide a listening ear or a sense of security. “As long as he was around me and my kids, we were always going to be safe,” she said. “He would never let anything happen to us no matter what.” Schultz was most recently working in construction about a year before his death. He came to the Marion County Jail on charges of possessing methamphetamine and a gun as a felon. He died six days after arriving. Around 7 p.m. on Nov. 23, 2022, Schultz’s cellmate found him unresponsive in his cell and alerted deputies. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office made a public announcement a week after Schultz died, and only after Salem Reporter sought information about his death. The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office was brought in to investigate the death and turned over their findings to prosecutors nearly a year later in October 2023. Marion County officials made no mention of drugs being connected with his death until Grill’s arrest in April. But Ashley Schultz said a detective told her soon after his death that he had overdosed on fentanyl, and that authorities almost immediately suspected other inmates of providing the drugs. She told Salem Reporter that detectives she spoke with from both Marion and Clackamas counties showed no compassion or care, and handled Schultz’s death “like it didn’t even matter.” “He was just another number. He’s just another drug addict that’s off the streets. But the problem is he wasn’t on the streets, he was in their jail,” she said. Sgt. Jeremy Schwab, spokesman for the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, said the agency understands that people in their custody “come from the community and have family and friends that care greatly about them.” “Our deputies strive to maintain a balance between showing empathy, professionalism, and focusing on the duties they are assigned,” Schwab said in an email. Clackamas County Sheriff Angela Brandenburg did not respond to an email sent to her office seeking her response to Ashley Schultz’s statements. RELATED COVERAGE: Salem man charged with dealing fentanyl in jail after inmate’s overdose death WATCHDOG: Jail inmate overdoses continue with little action from Marion County leaders A year later, Marion County jail death remains a mystery Man died Nov. 23 after being found unresponsive at Marion County Jail, deputies say Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. The post After inmate’s fatal overdose, Salem man gets 18 months for dealing fentanyl in jail appeared first on Salem Reporter.