Two of four people who nearly died in a room at the Red Roof Inn in Marietta after unknowingly taking fentanyl were sentenced in Washington County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday morning to community control and rehab.

Brittany Marie Wheeler, 27, whose address at the time of her arrest was given as 450 Wittekind Road, had earlier pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl, a fifth-degree felony. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 30 to 50 times stronger than heroin.

Wheeler and three others – Jacob Kyle Rowe, 26, of 202 Aurora St., Alicia Dawn Miller, 35, of 209 Fifth St. Extension, Lowell; and Justin Ryan Schroeder, 36, of 304 Kenwood St. — were taking drugs in the room the night of Nov. 7, under the impression that they were taking heroin. When the overdoses began, one of them called 911 and Rowe administered CPR to two of them, according to Joe Derkin, Washington County assistant prosecutor.

“Ms. Wheeler, this is a crossroads for you, and I hope you take rehab seriously,” Derkin said in court Wednesday. “I don’t want to see you back here with your only options being prison or a coffin.”

“I’ve never done rehab, I’m ready for something new,” Wheeler told the court.

When asked by Washington County Common Pleas Judge Mark Kerenyi if she was tired of being an addict, she said, “Yes.”

Kerenyi read out Wheeler’s criminal history, which including delinquency, trespassing, theft and several traffic violations. He noted there were active warrants out for her from California, Illinois and Fairfield County in Ohio, all involving drug offenses.

He remanded her to the Washington County Jail pending availability of a bed in the STAR Community Justice Center, a residential rehab facility for nonviolent offenders.

Her sentence included 120 days in jail, minus credit for time served. Kerenyi said she would be transported by the sheriff’s office to the STAR facility in Franklin Furnace. He said the next vacancy in the program is expected in late May.

“My hope is that you get clean and stay clean,” Kerenyi said. “And you must take care of those warrants in California and Illinois.”

Rowe, who entered a guilty plea April 9, received the same sentencing on the same charge.

“I’m thankful to be sitting here alive and well today,” Rowe told the court. “This is the time to change my life. I’m tired of being an addict and I want to change my behavior.”

“You have a golden opportunity,” Derkin said. “You saw what drugs can do.”

Kerenyi noted that Rowe had a criminal history that included trespassing, truancy, marijuana possession, theft, robbery and three instances of possession of controlled substances, one of those in Utah.

Both defendants were warned by Kerenyi that failure to follow the conditions of the sentence could result in them being sent to prison for up to 12 months.

Rowe’s attorney, Eric Fowler, said after the sentencing that his client’s experience illustrates the pervasiveness of the drug crisis.

“My client is from a good family, and this shows that the opioid epidemic affects people from all walks of life,” he said.

Fowler also noted that on the night he was arrested, Rowe, despite overdosing himself, administered CPR to Wheeler and Miller while waiting for emergency services personnel to arrive.

Miller pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl and has a sentencing hearing scheduled for June 13.

Schroeder, who is accused of supplying the drugs consumed that night, originally was indicted on 14 counts but in an agreement all but two of the counts were dismissed. He pleaded guilty May 4 to aggravated trafficking in drugs and trafficking in amphetamine, both fourth-degree felonies. The maximum penalties would be 36 months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Schroeder’s sentencing hearing is set for June 26.

About the sentencing

¯ Jacob Rowe: Possession of fentanyl, a fifth-degree felony.

Sentenced to two years community control (adult probation), jail time until a rehab bed becomes available, sentence conditional on completing rehab and complying with release conditions.

¯ Brittany Wheeler: Possession of fentanyl, a fifth-degree felony

Sentenced to two years community control (adult probation), jail time until a rehab bed becomes available, sentence conditional on completing rehab and complying with release conditions.