Guilty pleas in several drug trafficking cases are serving as landmark prosecution in the efforts to disrupt Kentucky’s opioid epidemic.
On Monday, three separate cases where drug dealers sold pills that caused someone to overdose and die were in court and ended with guilty pleas. The victims were in Fayette, Madison and Woodford Counties. Jennifer Powell’s sister Jolene Bowman died after taking one pill that she was told was oxycodone but it was fentanyl which is 100 times more potent than morphine.
“While she did not win her fight, her family and I hope that her story and these prosecutions will save others from the tragedy that ended her life and still haunts ours. I personally could not be more pleased with the convictions in this case. I’m very award that addicts bear the responsibility or the consequences that come from using drugs but at the same time I know my sister was victimized by predators who sought to profit from her addiction with no regard for her struggle and no remorse for our loss.”
United States Attorney Kerry Harvey said the Department of Justice has been working alongside law enforcement and other agencies for nearly two years to try and solve drug cases and prosecute dealers. If someone pleads guilty or is convicted of selling a drug to someone who overdoses, they are looking at time in federal prison for 20 years to life.