2 women who bought fatal dose of fentanyl in Mexico for friend sentenced to probation

Two Colorado women were sentenced to a term of probation and must make donations to anti-drug organizations after they pleaded guilty in November to selling a fatal dose of fentanyl to their friend in 2021, according to court documents.

Grace Kohler, 23, and Elizabeth Brown, 24, admitted to purchasing what they believed were oxycodone pills – but which were actually the dangerous synthetic opioid – while vacationing in Mexico and smuggling them back into the United States. The women later sold the drugs to a male friend, identified in court documents as J.B., who was found dead of an overdose the next morning by his roommate, according to the district U.S. Attorney’s Office in Colorado.

Both women were sentenced last week after they pleaded guilty Nov. 29 to a felony charge of conspiracy to import a controlled substance to the United States from Mexico.

A judge in federal court agreed with a request from the victim's family that the women avoid a prison term, sentencing Kohler and Brown to three years of probation and 240 hours of community service, according to court documents. The women were also ordered to pay $10,000 to a nonprofit or government organization based in Boulder, Colorado that promotes substance abuse awareness and prevention.

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Women believed fentanyl pills bought in Mexico were oxycodone

Kohler and Brown admitted to purchasing the pills for their friend while vacationing in August 2021 in the Mexican coastal resort town of Playa Del Carmen.

While visiting a pharmacy, the women had exchanged text messages and calls with their friend who instructed them to buy oxycodone, according to a plea agreement. Kohler paid $300 for what the pharmacy and its employees said were 30 pills of oxycodone and was later reimbursed by the friend who asked her to make the purchase for him.

The women concealed the pills from U.S. Customs and Border Protection by putting them in multivitamin containers before flying back a few days later to Denver. Upon landing, they drove to Boulder to meet with their friend and give him the drugs.

The next morning, Boulder police were dispatched to the man's residence after his roommate found him dead in his bedroom.

Investigators also found the other 29 counterfeit pills with the letter “M” and the number “30” stamped on them and in a poor imitation of oxycodone pills, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. A laboratory analysis found that the pills in the bag contained fentanyl and not oxycodone, as advertised.

An autopsy determined the man died of a fentanyl overdose.

“This tragic death is only one example of the lethal epidemic of fentanyl overdoses,” U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan said in a statement. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to raise public awareness and deter distribution of this deadly poison.”

What is the fentanyl crisis?

Fentanyl is widely considered by law enforcement and drug addiction experts to be the driving force behind the ongoing U.S. overdose epidemic that began about a decade ago with the misuse of prescription opioids.

Drug overdose deaths have surged from 2019 to 2021, according to the most recent federal data. Of the more than 106,000 drug overdose deaths reported in 2021, more than 70,000 people died of a fentanyl overdose – double the amount in 2019, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency reports that more than 20.9 million fentanyl pills have been seized already in 2024.

Amid the crisis, some advocates have called for more support for addiction treatment centers, while others hope to see a stronger crack down on illegally manufactured fentanyl smuggled into the United States. Among them recently was Grammy nominated rapper and country singer Jelly Roll, himself a former drug dealer, who spoke in January before Congress in support of a proposed bill to levy sanctions on cartel leaders and money launderers involved in trafficking fentanyl.

“The influx of illegal drugs, and drugs containing fentanyl, in the United States has increased over the years," Commander Nick Goldberger of the Boulder County drug task force, which assisted in the investigation, said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we have seen incidents of overdoses and tragically we have also had deaths occur."

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com