SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 2, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A Nevada resident pleaded guilty Friday to the distribution of fentanyl via the U.S. mail that resulted in serious bodily injury and nearly killed a Park City resident.
According to court documents and his own admissions, Colin Andrew Shapard, 22, of Las Vegas, mailed a package containing numerous fentanyl pills on Feb. 1, 2022, to a Park City resident, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for Utah.
“Shapard admitted that he knew fentanyl was a controlled substance and illegal to distribute. On Feb. 10, 2022, the recipient of the package suffered serious bodily injury after he ingested the pills, which caused him to lose consciousness.
“The victim’s father found him unconscious and called 911. Upon arrival, emergency medical personnel administered Narcan to the victim. Narcan is a drug that reverses the effects of opioids, including fentanyl, and is effective only on opioids. The victim was hospitalized and survived.
“The following day, DEA agents discovered that the victim overdosed on blue M30 fentanyl pills, which were purchased from Shapard.”
The investigation also revealed that Shapard mailed opioids to Utah multiple times. On the distribution of a controlled substance that resulted in serious bodily injury charge, he is scheduled for sentencing in April.
The case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and task force officers from the United States Postal Inspector Service, Park City Police Department and Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
When Shapard was indicted for the offense he has now pleaded guilty to, five charges of fentanyl distribution were included. Those complaints allege he regularly mailed parcels of fentanyl from Las Vegas to Utah from November 2021 through February 2022, including two sales to an undercover DEA agent, according to federal prosecutors.
The cases included photos from security cameras of Shapard mailing the opioids from a Las Vegas post office. The status of those additional cases was not detailed in Friday’s statement.
