A St. Louis woman was sentenced in federal court for her involvement in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy that included an assault on federal officers and the use of guns.
Toneisha D. Smith, 27, was sentenced to nearly 13 years in federal prison, totaling 155 months, by US District Judge Matthew T. Schelp. The sentence was imposed Tuesday, only days after co-defendant Trequan A. Dotson, 25, was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison, or 210 months. Three other co-defendants in the case have also been convicted.
Authorities traced the inquiry back to August 2023, when authorities went to a violent domestic dispute at Dotson’s home in the 4600 block of Newport Avenue in St. Louis. During the reaction, officers discovered fentanyl, a money-counting machine, $10,111 in cash, and several weapons, including two AR-style rifles, one AK-style handgun, and four AR-style pistols, many of which were fitted with high-capacity magazines.
Subsequent searches turned up more fentanyl and drug-related materials at an apartment in the 2300 block of South 7th Street, which Dotson used to manufacture and distribute fentanyl. On Oct. 16, 2023, authorities seized more fentanyl following a high-speed pursuit involving Dotson.
While in detention, Dotson directed another participant of the conspiracy to give fentanyl to Smith and taught her how to mix the narcotic with cutting agents for resale. Smith later admitted that she and her co-defendants, including Larry C. Hayes III, delivered fentanyl to an undercover DEA agent between March and June 2024.
On April 1, 2024, detectives conducted a court-authorized search of Smith’s residence on Miami Street in St. Louis, locating Smith, Hayes, and Marcel Harris, as well as fentanyl, cash, and an AR-style weapon.
On June 18, 2024, law enforcement planned to perform another permitted search at a Sidney Street address. Smith left the house and got into her car before authorities arrived. When she noticed oncoming task force officers, she sped toward them, aiming her vehicle at three. The officers averted injuries by leaping out of the way. Smith then drove over a curb, across a yard and trees, and eventually damaged her vehicle by driving off an embankment and flattening all four tires. She fled the scene. Investigators then discovered fentanyl, methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia inside the home, as well as a Rock River Arms AR-15 that had been reported stolen from the Missouri Highway Patrol.
On June 18, 2024, federal officials charged Smith. The next day, authorities found Smith and Hayes at a home on California Avenue, where more fentanyl and drug paraphernalia were confiscated.
In December, Smith pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, assaulting or resisting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, and possessing a pistol in furtherance of a narcotics trafficking felony.
In September, Dotson pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a weapon in connection with a drug trafficking charge. He also pleaded to possessing fentanyl in a second 2023 case and breaking a supervised release order from 2019.
Hayes, 25, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, as well as possession of a pistol in furtherance of a narcotics trafficking offense, and received a 12-year jail sentence.
Harris, 23, of Jennings, Missouri, pled guilty in June to fentanyl conspiracy charges. In addition to the activity described in the broader inquiry, he admitted to being detained twice by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for fentanyl possession, including during a high-speed chase on August 10, 2023. He was sentenced to ten years in jail in September.
According to a statement from Special Agent in Charge Michael A. Davis of the narcotics Enforcement Administration’s St. Louis Division, the case emphasizes the hazards that investigators face when combating narcotics trafficking and violence associated with fentanyl distribution.
The Drug Enforcement Administration handled the investigation, while Assistant US Attorney Phillip Voss prosecuted the case.
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