According to the U.S Department of Justice, 22-year-old Colin Andrew Shapard, now living in Las Vegas, allegedly mailed a package containing numerous fentanyl pills on Feb. 1, 2022, to a Park City resident.
The DOJ says 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 the DOJ says “caused him to lose consciousness.”
The victim’s father found his son unconscious and called 911. Upon arrival, emergency medical personnel administered Narcan to the victim — a drug that reverses the effect of opioids, including fentanyl.
The victim was transported to a hospital and survived. The following day, DEA agents discovered the victim overdosed on fentanyl pills, which were purchased from Shapard. Additionally, the investigation states that Shapard mailed opioids to Utah multiple times.
Shapard was charged in March 2022 with six counts related to the distribution of fentanyl. Law enforcement learned in November 2021 that illegal narcotic shipments containing opioids were being shipped from Las Vegas to Park City. A month later, U.S. postal inspectors took possession of a parcel and were able to obtain photographs of the individual who had allegedly shipped the parcel from a Las Vegas post office which identified Shapard.
A second package mailed by Shapard was seized by postal inspectors later that month.
An undercover DEA agent contacted Shapard to purchase drugs and in January 2022, post office cameras show Shapard mailing the agent a parcel containing the requested pills.
On Friday, Shapard pleaded guilty to distribution of a controlled substance that resulted in serious bodily injury. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 4, 2024, in Salt Lake City.
Shapard was also implicated in the overdose deaths of two 13-year-old Treasure Mountain Middle School students in 2016. Those deaths shocked the Park City community and spurred conversations about substance abuse and mental health that continue to this day.
