Colorado Springs woman suspected of selling fentanyl to teens advertised drugs on Facebook, affidavit says – The Denver Gazette

Alexis Nicole Wilkins.
Alexis Wilkins

Alexis Nicole Wilkins.
Alexis Wilkins
A Colorado Springs woman accused of selling fentanyl pills to teenage girls, in a deal that led to the death of a classmate at Mitchell High School, is a known drug dealer who advertised her product on Facebook, an arrest affidavit states.
Alexis Nicole Wilkins, 26, was arrested Tuesday; she’s accused of giving two girls fentanyl pills in the parking lot of The Citadel mall on Dec. 2. They took the pills to school the next morning, sharing one with a classmate who overdosed in class after taking the fentanyl, according to the affidavit.
One of the girls told an FBI agent that the girl who died “snorted more than she should have,” the affidavit states.
The court documents state a teacher called for help toward the end of class after seeing the student “foaming at the mouth.” She was taken to a local hospital, where she died from “fentanyl intoxication,” the documents say.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that’s far more powerful — and lethal — than morphine or heroin. Though it has legitimate medical use as an anesthetic, fentanyl has become increasingly prominent in the illicit drug market, thanks to shifts in the trade, its potency and its low cost of production and transportation.
Wilkins is a member of the Rolling 60s Crips, a Colorado Springs-based criminal street gang, according to the affidavit. She met one of the girls through a Denver gang member and sold the girls two pills for $40, the affidavit states.
The affidavit says Wilkins was part of Facebook groups centered around dealing drugs. She interacted with other users about buying or selling drugs as her Facebook page had hundreds of pictures and posts of what she was selling, the affidavit says.
“Facebook data shows Wilkins has been engaged in the distribution of fentanyl for many months,” the affidavit states.
Before her arrest, Wilkins pleaded guilty to child abuse/negligence in December, court documents show. She was also sentenced to a 12-month probation three times between April 2016 and April 2019 for misdemeanor thefts; twice her probation was revoked.
A search of Wilkins’ house on the day of her arrest found $7,000 in cash and more than 100 blue pills marked with “M” and “30,” which, the affidavit says, means the controlled substance in these pills is indeed fentanyl and not oxycodone. It also added that fentanyl pills are “sold under the guise of oxycodone 30 mg tables (that) are blue in color” and have those imprints.
Distributing fentanyl carries a penalty of at least 20 years in prison to a life sentence, a fine up to $1 million and at least three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado said in a news release.
Earlier this month, District 11, which includes Mitchell High School, launched its Fake and Fatal campaign, an initiative focused on educating and training staff members, students and families about the dangers of the synthetic opioid.
The 2021 statistics are expected to be available in May, but Colorado’s 2020 overdose numbers are staggering. State health data show there were 10 times as many overdoses involving fentanyl in 2020 than there were just four years earlier.
In a letter, spokeswoman Devra Ashby asked the District 11 community to stay engaged in its campaign to “keep our students healthy, strong and thriving.”
“Here is what’s happening: teens are purchasing what they think are OxyContin, Percocet, or Xanax pills via social media, but drug dealers are selling fake pills with the cheaper, stronger, and a more deadly synthetic drug called fentanyl,” Ashby wrote. “Fentanyl is up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl is odorless, tasteless, and colorless. Teens never know what they’re getting.”
She added: “One pill can kill them. One pill.”
Colorado Springs School District 11, impacted by overdose deaths in recent years, joins battle against fentanyl
Colorado prosecutors look to federal distribution law as model for combating fentanyl
With fentanyl deaths on the rise, Colorado Bureau of Investigation seeks more funding and staff

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