United States Drug Enforcement Administration

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Rock Port, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to selling fentanyl to another Atchison County, Mo., man that resulted in his fatal overdose.

Quentin W. Carder, 23, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, which caused the death of another person, and one count of distributing fentanyl and cocaine, which caused the death of another person.

By pleading guilty today, Carder admitted that he distributed four blue pills that appeared to be oxycodone, but which were counterfeit and actually contained fentanyl, to a person identified in court documents as “C.L.” on June 18, 2021. Carder had previously supplied C.L. with cocaine.

In the early hours of June 20, 2021, C.L. used one of the fentanyl pills he obtained from Carder. Later that morning, C.L.’s father found him in his bedroom, unresponsive and in medical distress. C.L. was transported to a hospital for medical attention but eventually succumbed and was pronounced dead on June 22, 2021. According to today’s plea agreement, a forensic toxicologist concluded that C.L. would not have died but for acute intoxication of fentanyl.

Under federal statutes, Carder is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Atchison County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.