Chelsea Leonowicz, Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl, Colorado 2017

A Fort Collins woman has been sentenced to 100 months in federal prison for her role in a fentanyl conspiracy that resulted in three overdose deaths in northern Colorado.

Chelsea Leonowicz, 28, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, on August 23, 2017. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia Martinez and Bradley W. Giles.

Court documents indicate that the fentanyl distributed by Leonowicz and her co-conspirator, Jessica Rud, resulted in the overdose death of one individual in Fort Collins on December 1, 2016. Two more individuals overdosed and died in Loveland, Colorado, just two days later, on December 3, 2016.

Although the drug was sold as “White China” heroin, in actuality it was almost 100% pure fentanyl. Leonowicz’s guilty plea followed a February 2017 indictment with co-conspirator Jessica Rud, 29, also of Fort Collins, Colorado.

Rud previously pled guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to serve 121 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons in February of this year. Both defendants will be followed by a five-year term of federal supervised release.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force, the Fort Collins Police Services (FCPS), the Loveland Police Department (LPD), and the Fort Collins Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The case serves as a reminder of the dangers of fentanyl and the consequences of those who distribute this deadly substance. We urge all residents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the authorities.

Defendant: Chelsea Leonowicz

Crime: Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl, a Schedule II Controlled Substance

City and State: Fort Collins, Colorado

Exactly Date: August 23, 2017 (sentencing)

Sentence: 100 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of federal supervised release

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/fort-collins-women-sentenced-conspiring-distribute-fentanyl-resulting-three-overdose