Missouri man pleads guilty to distributing fentanyl that caused fatal overdose, faces at least 20 years in prison

Overdose Death News Graphic
Share To Your Social Network

A Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court to selling fentanyl to another Atchison County, Mo., man which resulted in his fatal overdose.

Quentin W. Carder, 23, of Rock Port, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, which caused the death of another person, and one count of distributing fentanyl and cocaine, which caused the death of another person.

By pleading guilty, Carder admitted that he distributed four blue pills that appeared to be oxycodone, but which were counterfeit and contained fentanyl, to a person identified in court documents as “C.L.” on June 18, 2021. Carder had previously supplied C.L. with cocaine.

In the early hours of June 20, 2021, C.L. used one of the fentanyl pills he obtained from Carder. Later that morning, C.L.’s father found him in his bedroom, unresponsive and in medical distress. C.L. was transported to a hospital for medical attention but eventually succumbed and was pronounced dead on June 22, 2021. According to the plea agreement, a forensic toxicologist concluded that C.L. would not have died but of acute intoxication of fentanyl.

Under federal statutes, Carder is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Atchison County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.


Share To Your Social Network