Amalfi was sentenced to 20 years for manslaughter in a Mesa fentanyl death.

A prison term after a guilty plea is the judgment on that count, not an open accusation waiting for trial. FOX 10 Phoenix, citing the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, reported James Anthony Amalfi was sentenced to 20 years after pleading guilty to manslaughter for selling fentanyl tied to Ryan Brown’s death. Court documents put the sentencing on Sept. 15, 2026, even though the office’s public announcement drew fresh coverage on Sept. 30. The date of announcement does not reopen the plea.

FOX 10 Phoenix reported that in December 2024, Mesa police responded after Brown’s wife, who was in the hospital after giving birth to their second child, could not reach him and asked her mother to check on him. Officers found Brown deceased at the home. Prosecutors said a small bag later determined to contain fentanyl was on the nightstand, along with tin foil with burnt residue, and that Brown bought the drugs from Amalfi.

According to the MCAO statement quoted by FOX 10 Phoenix, text messages showed Amalfi instructing Brown to send money to a codefendant and agreeing to drop off the drugs, and that two days after Brown’s death Amalfi reached out again offering to sell more fentanyl. Those texts are part of the prosecution’s account of a case already resolved by plea and sentence as to Amalfi.

KTAR reported Amalfi previously pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter and that two felony drug-sale counts were dismissed as part of the deal. FOX 10 Phoenix reported the codefendant’s trial is set for October and that the codefendant remains in custody on a $250,000 bond. A codefendant’s upcoming trial is a separate calendar. It does not undo Amalfi’s manslaughter sentence.