Pocatello woman gets over 15 years in prison for selling fentanyl to man who later died from overdose

POCATELLO — A woman who pleaded guilty to selling fentanyl to a man who then died from fentanyl overdose has been sentenced to federal prison.

Hailey M. Card, 32, pleaded guilty July 20, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. She was sentenced to 188 months — 15 years and eight months — in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye.

Pocatello police responded to an unattended death on Jan. 15, 2022, the release says. When officers arrived, they found drug paraphernalia and other items indicating an opiate overdose.

Witnesses told officers that the man, who is not named in the release, left his home around 11:30 p.m. the night before and returned around 12:30 a.m. in “a normal state.” Two hours later, he was found dead.

Officers investigating the death learned that the man purchased fentanyl from Card while he was out and consumed the drug upon returning home. An autopsy showed the cause of death to be acute fentanyl intoxication.

“The battle against fentanyl requires all of us to work together,” U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit says in the release. “In this case, we had exceptional cooperation between law enforcement and the coroner’s offices that allowed us to obtain the evidence we needed to obtain justice and to protect others from the tragic fate of the deceased in this case.”

Fentanyl, according to the release, is a synthetic opioid 50- to 100-times stronger than morphine. It is used by healthcare professionals for management of “severe pain,” and is prescribed in the form of patches or lozenges.

Most cases of fentanyl-related death, the release continues, are linked to illegally made fentanyl.

“Idaho in general has seen a massive influx of counterfeit pills in the last several years. The pills are mass-produced by criminal drug networks and falsely marketed as legitimate prescription pills,” the release says. “The pills are made to look like prescription opioids such as oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin), and alprazolam (Xanax); or stimulants-like amphetamines (Adderall).”

Upon completion of her prison sentence, Card will be released to supervised probation for three years.