Jonathan D. Ross U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas
A federal jury has convicted a mother and daughter from Hensley, Arkansas, of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl resulting in death. The case stems from an incident at a Saline County home where four people overdosed, one fatally.
April Adams, 62, and her daughter Amber Church, 38, were found guilty on all charges after a three-day trial. The verdict was delivered Wednesday to United States District Court Judge James M. Moody, Jr., who will sentence both women at a later date. Adams and Church remain in federal custody while awaiting sentencing.
Both women face a statutory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the fentanyl-related charges. Adams also faces up to 20 years for distribution of methamphetamine. In addition to imprisonment, the drug offenses carry potential fines up to $1 million and at least three years of supervised release.
According to evidence presented during the trial, law enforcement responded on April 16, 2023, to multiple overdoses at a residence on Crab Apple Circle. Officers from the Saline County Sheriff’s Office found four individuals had overdosed; medical personnel administered Narcan and revived three people, but one died at the scene.
Testimony revealed that Adams offered methamphetamine to those present—including Church and the victim who died—before Church retrieved what she described as “cocaine” from Adams’ room. The substance was actually fentanyl. After ingesting it, all four users lost consciousness. Adams did not use the fentanyl herself and waited about 45 minutes before calling anyone about the overdoses; she contacted a friend rather than emergency services.
“This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.”
The investigation was conducted by the Saline County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Edward Walker and Jordan Crews prosecuted the case.
