Colorado Springs woman pleads guilty in fentanyl death of high school student
Nov. 30—A Colorado Springs woman has pleaded guilty to selling a fentanyl pill that caused a Mitchell High School student to fatally overdose, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado.
In a change-of-plea hearing on Wednesday, Alexis Wilkins, 27, submitted to a charge of "distribution of fentanyl, resulting in death," the release stated.
The victim and a schoolmate bought two pills from Wilkins in the parking lot of The Citadel mall on Dec. 2 last year, according to a March arrest affidavit. Two juvenile witnesses told investigators said they were in the school bathroom with the victim when she took a pill that she thought was Percocet. The girl collapsed and began "foaming at the mouth," according to court documents.
First responders worked on the overdose victim and took her to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead, arrest documents show.
The El Paso County coroner determined that the teen died of "fentanyl intoxication," officials said.
Investigators identified Wilkins as the dealer who sold the fatal pill through Facebook messages, including one that appeared to arrange a sale for Dec. 2, the night before the fatal overdose.
"Facebook data shows Wilkins has been engaged in the distribution of fentanyl for many months," the affidavit states.
One witness said a Denver gang member introduced her to Wilkins in February of last year, and that they occasionally bought "Percs" from her. One of the pills they purchased on Dec. 2 was lighter in color than usual, a witness told police.
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On March 15, FBI agents and Colorado Springs police executed a search warrant on Wilkins' home, where they found more than 100 pills marked with "M" and "30" that later tested positive for fentanyl, officials said. Some of the pills appeared to be packaged for sale.
In response to the Mitchell student's death and the fast-growing fentanyl crisis in the city, School District 11 launched its "Fake and Fatal" initiative earlier this year. The campaign focused on educating and training staff members, students and families about the dangers of the synthetic opioid, which experts say is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.
In an introductory video, district officials warned that many drugs are being sold on social media, meaning just about any teen with a little money and a working Wi-Fi connection can obtain illegal drugs, the D-11 video explains, "as easy as ordering a pizza."
The video also cautioned that many other drugs sold at street level are laced with fentanyl, and that some overdose victims are ingesting the deadly drug without knowing it.
"Fentanyl is being manufactured at extremely low cost, distributed to cartels and other nefarious individuals to be pressed into other pills, such as Percocet," said D-11 official Corey Notestine.
"These other drugs are now being laced with lethal doses of fentanyl, unbeknownst to the purchaser."
Fentanyl distribution resulting in death carries a penalty of 20 years to life in prison, a fine up to $1 million and at least three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
