SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — A man was sentenced to
prison today for distributing fentanyl to a Park City man in 2022, nearly killing him, according to the U.S. Department of Justice . Colin Andrew Shapard, 23, of Las Vegas, was sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by 36 months supervised release, the DOJ said. In December 2023, Shapard pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl via mail , which seriously injured and nearly killed a Park City resident when he overdosed on the pills in 2022. According to court documents, investigations into Shapard began in November 2021 after a Park City resident told authorities he obtained the drugs he possessed from Shapard. The resident also reportedly told authorities that in 2016, Shapard was the person who supplied a dangerous synthetic opioid to two 13-year-old middle school students in Park City, who died as a result of ingesting the substance, the DOJ said. Shapard was reportedly charged in juvenile court for the deaths of the two teens, as he was a juvenile at the time. In December 2021, investigators identified and seized two shipments of counterfeit blue M30 pills laced with fentanyl that were mailed from
Las Vegas to Utah. Simultaneously, DEA agents also learned that from December 2021 to May 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized four illicit drug shipments addressed to Shapard from the Netherlands. Additionally, in October 2020, customs enforcement agents in
Germany reportedly seized two U.S.-bound packages addressed to Shapard that contained illegal amphetamine-based drugs. Also in 2020, agents learned Shapard received a FedEx package to a Midvale,
Utah address that contained chemicals utilized in the manufacture of the drug GHB and/or fentanyl, the DOJ said. In 2022, undercover DEA agents reportedly purchased drugs from Shapard. The DOJ said Shapard told the undercover agent that the “blues” he sold were legitimate pharmaceuticals that he acquired from
Canada, and claimed he tested every shipment of pills he received to confirm they did not contain fentanyl — when in fact they did. In February 2022, the Park City resident was found on the floor unresponsive by his father, according to the DOJ. The father called 911 and began CPR until emergency medical personnel arrived and administered Naloxone, also referred to as Narcan (a drug that reverses the effects of opioids, including fentanyl, and is effective only on opioids). According to the DOJ, the victim was hospitalized and survived. The next day, DEA agents reportedly discovered the victim overdosed on blue M30 fentanyl pills, which were purchased from Shapard. On March 8, 2022, Shapard was arrested. U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins of the District of Utah said community safety remains a top priority for her office. “Mr. Shapard not only knowingly sold dangerous synthetic opioids, but he did so while deceiving his customers about the nature of the product,” Higgins said. “Fentanyl is 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. Had it not been for the quick response from the victim’s family and the fast acting first responders who administered Narcan this would have been a more tragic outcome.”