United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of one count of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in serious bodily injury and one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance was sentenced on Dec. 30, 2019, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Michael Wayne Cooper, age 58, was sentenced to 240 months of federal imprisonment on each count, to be served concurrently, and 3 years of supervised release on each count, to be served concurrently. He was also ordered to pay $200 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
According to the court documents, Cooper knowingly and intentionally distributed a controlled substance, namely fentanyl, resulting in the serious bodily injury of a victim in Sioux Falls, who overdosed on the fentanyl sold to him. The overdose victim was revived by first responders with two doses of Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, which prevented his death.
The evidence at trial further demonstrated that Cooper had been involved in an ongoing conspiracy in Sioux Falls to illegally distribute hydromorphone (commonly known as Dilaudid), a Schedule II controlled substance, from about the beginning of 2015 through August 2018.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Sioux Falls Police Department, and the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamara Nash prosecuted the case.
Cooper was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
