COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A Colorado Springs woman is facing federal charges after distributing fentanyl that resulted in a girl's death, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver said.
Alexis Wilkins, 26, was arrested Tuesday. She is charged with distributing fentanyl resulting in death.
According to a criminal complaint, investigators found evidence that Wilkins sold one or two pills containing fentanyl to two girls in the parking lot of the Citadel Mall in Colorado Springs on Dec. 2. The girls took the pill or pills to Mitchell High School the next day, where they met in the bathroom with another girl, according to court documents.
The third girl consumed at least some portion of the pill, which had been crushed, investigators said. She died in class.
It's unclear whether the other two girls consumed any portion of the pill.
One of the girls told investigators that Wilkins had been selling Percocet, which is a brand of oxycodone tablets, to her for several months. The girl told investigators that on Dec. 2, she contacted Wilkins to arrange the purchase of two Percocet for a total of $40. When she got the pills, the girl noticed they "looked different and were a lighter blue color than normal," according to court documents.
Investigators believe Wilkins knew she was selling fentanyl pills, "as opposed to a genuine prescription opioid like oxycodone."
When investigators searched Wilkins' apartment Tuesday, they found more than 100 blue pills and more than $7,000 in cash, according to court documents.
If convicted, she faces a potential penalty of 20 years to life in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
Wilkins is at least the second person to be arrested in connection with fatal fentanyl in Colorado Springs this year.
In January, investigators said, a 16-year-old boy in Colorado Springs likely overdosed and died on fentanyl after taking possibly two pills.
According to federal court documents, the teen's mother introduced him and his friends to the suppliers. According to court records, the two suppliers are accused of selling four fentanyl pills in a plastic baggie to the 16-year-old and his two friends for about $40.
Police believe the three boys used one of the fentanyl pills together before the 16-year-old went back home. Court documents say an investigator believes the teen likely used another pill later that evening, which caused his overdose and death.
The teen's mom is facing charges at the state level, and the suppliers were arrested on federal drug charges.
9NEWS' Kelly Reinke contributed to the reporting of this story.
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