In a devastating case of fentanyl trafficking, Zachary Hovis, 24, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for selling the deadly opioid that killed one woman and sent another to the hospital in one day in 2019.
A U.S. District Judge, Sarah E. Pitlyk, handed down the sentence in St. Louis on Thursday.
Hovis sold fentanyl to an 18-year-old woman in the parking lot of a country club in Weldon Spring, Missouri on November 16, 2019. The victim, who was Hovis’ close friend, drove to the parking lot of a nearby business, where she was found unconscious about an hour and 15 minutes later. Despite a bystander’s attempt to administer naloxone, she died from fentanyl intoxication.
Later that day, Hovis supplied fentanyl to another person who believed she was buying the painkiller oxycodone. That woman later went to the hospital, believing she was overdosing, but was treated and released.
Hovis pleaded guilty in June to two counts of distribution of fentanyl in U.S. District Court in St. Louis.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Charles County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tiffany Becker and Cassandra Wiemken prosecuted the case.
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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