Description: Denver, Colorado criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl resulting in the death of a juvenile.

On January 30, 2022, Marlene McGuire, age 58, of Colorado Springs, sold four pills which contained fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl to the three juveniles near a fire station in the Security-Widefield area of Colorado Springs. On January 31, 2022, a father of one of the juveniles and his stepmother discovered the juvenile deceased in his bedroom in their home. Police and a deputy coroner found paraphernalia used for smoking fentanyl pills in the juvenile’s room and two blue pills in a baggie in his dresser drawer. After an autopsy, the El Paso County Coroner’s Office determined the juvenile’s cause of death was acute fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl toxicity. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Western Laboratory tested the two pills found in the juvenile’s dresser drawer. Both pills contained para-fluorofentanyl. One of the two pills also contained fentanyl, lidocaine, and xylazine.

An investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) identified McGuire and a co-defendant as the individuals who sold the blue pills and also revealed that they had been engaged in a conspiracy to sell various controlled substances—including methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and blue pills—since at least May 2020. On February 21, 2022, the FBI and CSPD executed a federal search warrant at McGuire’s long-time residence in Colorado Springs. In addition to finding both McGuire and a co-defendant in the residence, law enforcement officers located and seized methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and a blue pill which contained fentanyl.

“Fentanyl is a deadly poison that is killing our children,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. “We are grateful to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Colorado Springs Police Department for their work in this investigation, and their collective efforts to keep our communities safe from this deadly epidemic.”

“Fentanyl is a deadly plague consuming our communities. In this case, the defendant was part of a conspiracy that led to the overdose death of a young man,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “The cooperation with our law enforcement partners in Colorado Springs made this result possible. The family of the deceased young man can know that those who supplied the deadly drugs have been held accountable and will no longer be able to provide poison to other juveniles.”

“The Colorado Springs Police Department is grieving with the family of the child who was killed and hopes that the successful prosecution of this case brings some measure of justice,” said Commander Doug Trainer, CSPD Metro Division. “We take the distribution of fentanyl in our community seriously. We are thankful for our federal partners at the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office who assisted with the investigation and prosecuted this case. We want to reassure our community that we will continue to fight the fentanyl epidemic alongside our federal partners.”

United States District Court Judge Regina M. Rodriguez presided over the week-long jury trial. Sentencing is scheduled for December 6, 2023.

The FBI and the Colorado Springs Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Alyssa Mance and Peter McNeilly handled the prosecution.

21 U.S.C. § 846 (Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute (1) 50 Grams or More of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance; (2) a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Heroin, a Schedule I Controlled Substance; and (3) a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Cocaine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, in Violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A)(viii))
(1)
21 U.S.C. § 846 (Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, and Para-fluorofentanyl, a Schedule I Controlled Substance, Resulting in Death, in Violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C))
(1s)
21 U.S.C. § 846 - Conspiracy to Distribute (1) a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Fentanyl, a Schedule II Controlled Substance; (2) a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Para-fluorofentanyl, a Schedule I Controlled Substance; (3) 50 Grams or More of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance; (4) a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Heroin, a Schedule I Controlled Substance; and (5) a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Cocaine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, Resulting in Death, in Violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B)(viii), and (b)(1)(C)
(1ss)
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(viii) (Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance)
(2)
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C) (Distribution of Fentanyl, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, and Para-fluorofentanyl, a Schedule I Controlled Substance, Resulting in Death)
(2s)
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C) - Distribution of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Fentanyl, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, and a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Para-fluorofentanyl, a Schedule I Controlled Substance, Resulting in Death
(2ss)
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C) (Possession with Intent to Distribute a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Heroin, a Schedule I Controlled Substance)
(3)
21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 859 (Distribution of Fentanyl, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, and Para-fluorofentanyl, a Schedule I Controlled Substance, to a Person Under 21)
(3s)
21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 859 - Distribution of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Fentanyl, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, and a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Para-fluorofentanyl, a Schedule I Controlled Substance, to a Person Under 21
(3ss)
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C) (Possession with Intent to Distribute a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Cocaine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance)
(4)
21 U.S.C. § 846 (Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute (1) 50 Grams or More of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance; (2) a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Heroin, a Schedule I Controlled Substance; and (3) a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Cocaine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, in Violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A)(viii))
(4s)
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(viii) - Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance
(4ss)
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(viii) (Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance)
(5s)
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C) - Possession with Intent to Distribute a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Heroin, a Schedule I Controlled Substance
(5ss)
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C) (Possession with Intent to Distribute a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Heroin, a Schedule I Controlled Substance)
(6s)
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C) - Possession with Intent to Distribute a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Cocaine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance
(6ss)
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C) (Possession with Intent to Distribute a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Cocaine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance)
(7s)

Outcome: Defendant was found guilty.

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Defendant's Experts:

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