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Tyrell Gist, 27, pleaded guilty on Monday, Feb. 5 to two counts of first-degree strict liability for drug-induced death, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office announced. Gist was charged in the deaths of two tourists from the United Kingdom who were visiting Atlantic City.
Bally's Atlantic City employees found 42-year-old Scott Jordan and 39-year-old Simon Gamble unresponsive in their hotel room on Sunday, Mar. 8, 2020. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene and the medical examiner said their cause of death was "acute toxic effects of fentanyl and ethanol."
Police found about 10 ripped white wax bags and a line of a "white powdery substance" on a table. The state police laboratory determined the bags contained heroin, fentanyl, and the chemical precursor to fentanyl known as 4-ANNP.
Investigators said Jordan and Gamble were U.K. citizens working in New York City. They planned on spending the night in Atlantic City before returning to New York.
Bally's surveillance video helped police identify Gist as the person who sold the men the drugs. Prosecutors announced Gist's arrest in June 2021.
Gist also pleaded guilty in two unrelated indictments. Prosecutors said he admitted to selling drugs in Atlantic City in August 2020.
Atlantic City officers saw Gist run a stop sign while speeding in an SUV on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020. He tried to get away from police but he eventually stopped.
Gist was arrested and found with methamphetamine and a "large amount" of cash. He pleaded guilty to third-degree distribution of methamphetamine and third-degree eluding resulting from a motor vehicle stop.
About two weeks later, police saw Gist sell drugs several times on Martin Luther King Boulevard on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. Gist was arrested and found with about 12 grams of cocaine and another "large amount" of cash. He pleaded guilty to third-degree possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.
Prosecutors said Gist is expected to be sentenced to 13 years in state prison for the overdose deaths of Jordan and Gamble. He would also serve two five-year sentences concurrently in the August 2020 cases.
Gist must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he's eligible for parole under the No Early Release Act. He will also be supervised for five years once he's released.
Gist was being held at the Atlantic County Justice Facility and his sentencing was scheduled for Friday, May 3 in all three cases.
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