Show-Me State Times

A man from St. Peters, Missouri, admitted on Friday to selling fentanyl that resulted in the death of one woman and hospitalization of another in 2019.

Zachary Hovis, 24, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two counts of distribution of fentanyl. Hovis confessed to supplying fentanyl to a woman in the parking lot of a country club in Weldon Spring, Missouri, on November 16, 2019. The victim drove to a nearby business's parking lot where she was found unconscious approximately an hour and 15 minutes later. Despite a bystander's attempt to aid the victim by administering naloxone, she died. A medical examiner later determined that the immediate cause of her death was fentanyl intoxication.

Later that day, Hovis supplied fentanyl to another person who intended to purchase oxycodone from him. According to Hovis' plea agreement, he claimed he was providing oxycodone. The second woman subsequently went to the hospital believing she was overdosing but was treated and released.

Hovis is scheduled for sentencing on October 3. Each charge carries a potential prison term of up to 20 years, a fine of up to $1 million, or both.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Charles County Drug Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassandra Wiemken is prosecuting.