A Colorado Springs woman, Maria Davis-Conchie, 49, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for distributing alprazolam (Xanax) to her 16-year-old son and his friends. The sentencing was handed down by United States District Court Judge Regina M. Rodriguez on November 29, 2023.
According to the plea agreement, Davis-Conchie regularly distributed controlled substances over at least one year leading up to January 30, 2022. She sold Xanax—a Schedule IV controlled substance—to her son and his teenage friends for $5 to $10 per pill. She also cautioned them not to take too many pills at once. During this period, her son and another friend used Xanax every weekend, although some of the drugs were sourced from others besides Davis-Conchie.
The plea agreement further details that Davis-Conchie believed her son would use drugs regardless of her actions and decided instead to sell what she considered "safe" drugs. In addition to Xanax, she provided marijuana, marijuana concentrate, and LSD (acid) to the teenagers. Around December 31, 2021, she bought Xanax bars and LSD for them because they wanted "to try something different on New Years Eve," believing psychedelic drugs like LSD were safe. She claimed these substances were purchased from co-defendant Marlene McGuire at a fire station near McGuire’s home while accompanied by her son and two of his friends.
Evidence presented at sentencing showed that Davis-Conchie introduced her son to co-defendants Douglas Floyd and Marlene McGuire so he could buy fentanyl pills from them. Floyd pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to distributing fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl resulting in the death of Davis-Conchie's son; he was sentenced on November 21, 2023, to more than thirteen years in federal prison. A federal jury convicted McGuire on September 22, 2023, for distributing fentanyl resulting in death as well as other charges; her sentencing is scheduled for January 19, 2024.
“This case brings into stark relief the nightmare that is occurring daily in America,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. “Catastrophic decision-making paired with a deadly poisonous drug killed a child and destroyed a family.”
“Fentanyl continues to kill members of our communities at an alarming rate. This case is almost beyond belief: A mother provided drugs to her son and then introduced him to the dealers that supplied him with fentanyl, resulting in his death,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “This woman’s son is gone because of the chain of events she started, and this sentence is a consequence of her actions. We cannot ignore the devastation this drug continues to bring to countless lives here in Colorado and across the nation."
The investigation was conducted by the FBI along with the Colorado Springs Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Peter McNeilly and Alyssa Christine Mance prosecuted the case.
Case Number: 22-cr-00080-RMR
