Jurors in U.S. District Court in St. Louis have found Bobby Lee Jones, 27, guilty of distributing fentanyl that resulted in the death of an 18-year-old woman in 2023.
According to evidence and testimony presented during the trial, the victim contacted Jones on January 15, 2023, initially seeking marijuana through a text message. After exchanging messages, Jones offered to sell her Percocet as well. The two met shortly after 7 p.m., where she exchanged cash for pills that were later determined to be counterfeit and contained a fatal dose of fentanyl. The victim’s boyfriend was unable to reach her around midnight and found her deceased the following day.
Jones has not yet been scheduled for sentencing. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison for the fentanyl distribution resulting in death charge.
Jones is also set to stand trial on unrelated carjacking and firearm charges on January 5, 2026. Authorities emphasized that these charges are accusations at this stage and do not establish guilt: “Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
The investigation was conducted by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Szczucinski and Nicholas Lake are prosecuting the case.
