Show-Me State Times

A man from St. Louis County, Missouri, Donald Lawrence Bateman, has been sentenced to 84 months in prison by U.S. District Judge John A. Ross for selling drugs to a woman who later died. Bateman, 28, pleaded guilty in January to distribution of a controlled substance and possession with the intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing fentanyl.

According to the report, Bateman admitted to selling illegal drugs to a St. Louis woman who was found dead the next day. In a series of text messages, Bateman and the victim discussed the sale of drugs, including reference to pills labeled as “30s.” The victim’s blood sample contained fentanyl and ethanol.

During the investigation, seventeen blue pills labeled “M30” that contained fentanyl, 14 green pills, and a firearm were found in Bateman’s possession. Bateman and his lawyers disputed that the pills were the cause of the victim’s death, but Judge Ross concluded that Bateman’s sale of the drugs was central to her death after witness testimony and evidence were presented.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department looked into the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cort VanOstran, James Delworth, and Samantha Reitz handling the prosecution.

The article concludes with a statement from the Drug Enforcement Administration.