Stopping fentanyl: Northern Colorado Drug Task Force, Larimer County DA take prosecution lead in new state law
Larimer County is working to send a clear message to those choosing to sell fentanyl, the message coming in the form of the number of years dealers are now facing in prison for their roles in overdoses. That was made clear on Tuesday when Samuel Strait, a confessed fentanyl dealer, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the death of a 15-year-old boy.
Strait, 32, was prosecuted under Colorado's 2022 law known as "distribution of fentanyl resulting in death." The relatively new law allows law enforcement and the judiciary to hold drug dealers responsible for the deaths of those with a substance use disorder.
CBS News Colorado was the only television news outlet in the courtroom as Strait learned his fate after pleading guilty. CBS News Colorado agreed not to share the name of the 15-year-old victim due to his age and also agreed not to use the name or images of the family members who shared victim statements at sentencing.
However, the district attorney's office read some statements that encouraged the judge to give Strait the maximum sentence, 25 years, under the plea agreement.
"(The victim) was just a kid. And kids feel invincible. Kids cannot grasp the finality of death," the prosecutor read from one family statement. "I cannot wonder what would have happened if Mr. Strait had told my nephew no that weekend."
Strait asked for leniency from the judge prior to sentencing, claiming his time behind bars had given him sobriety and a new opportunity to be a productive member of society.
"I am terribly ashamed and embarrassed to say my actions led to a 15-year-old getting his hands on such a dangerous drug," Strait said.
Strait's lawyer argued the judge was trying to unfairly set an example with his client by allowing CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas to document the sentencing of 25 years in prison.
"We get the news to show up, you got all of this expanded media coverage. That doesn't look like justice, that looks like showbusiness," said Troy Krenning, Strait's lawyer.
"If anyone thinks you are sending a message of deterrence to those folks, sadly they are mistaken," Krenning said, speaking on whether or not drug users would be swayed to change their habits based on this case.
Larimer County leads the state in the number of distribution resulting in death cases being prosecuted, according to District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin.
He said cases like Strait's should send a clear message to the community about how seriously Larimer County will take fentanyl.
"These first sentences are going to show a lot about how seriously the judiciary is taking these cases," McLaughlin said. "When someone has killed somebody, a sentence that serious is appropriate."
McLaughlin credited the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force for leading the way in finding drug dealers and holding them accountable for their roles in overdoses.
CBS News Colorado requested to speak with a representative from the task force for this report, however, someone was not made available prior to this report being published.
Strait is only the second person in Larimer County to be sentenced to prison for their role in the death of someone they dealt fentanyl to. However, McLaughlin said Strait would not be the last person to be held accountable.
"We've been able to put that effort in, in part because our Larimer County commissioners gave us a grant-funded prosecutor position that is focusing on fentanyl distribution causing death, so we can get justice for these families that used to be forgotten," McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin admitted his office didn't use to hold dealers accountable in cases of overdoses, citing their lack of legal authority or funding to be able to do so.
He said his office doesn't believe that prison is the best source of accountability for every drug abuser, saying that is why his office often pleas down drug-related offenses for many users. However, he said there was a big difference between someone needing to be held accountable for their addictions, and someone who needs to be held accountable for pushing drugs on others.
"When folks are praying on vulnerable members of our community like that with this lethal drug, we are going to hold them accountable," McLaughlin said.
