A man convicted of supplying fentanyl that caused one fatal and two nonfatal overdoses in St. Louis in 2023 has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp delivered the sentence to Victor Mora, who had previously pleaded guilty to one felony count of distribution of fentanyl.
According to court records, on December 2, 2023, Mora approached three men at a gas station and offered to take them to buy cocaine. The men gave him $140 and requested $100 worth of cocaine. Mora joined the victims in their car and directed them to another location where he purchased capsules containing white powder from a group on the street. He told the victims that the capsules contained cocaine.
After returning to the gas station, the three men used the substance in their car. Officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department later found all three unconscious inside the vehicle. Two of them regained consciousness, while a third was pronounced dead at a hospital after resuscitation efforts failed.
The next day, an undercover detective accompanied one of the surviving victims back to the area where Mora had purchased the drugs. They identified Mora, who arranged another meeting for a drug sale before being arrested later that day.
Tests on capsules recovered from the victims’ vehicle confirmed they contained fentanyl rather than cocaine. The deceased victim died as a result of fentanyl overdose.
Michael Davis, Special Agent in Charge at DEA St. Louis Division, stated: “The human life is worth infinitely more than the $140 Victor Mora received from selling purported cocaine to the victims who suffered fentanyl poisoning and in one tragic case, succumbed to the substance,” Davis said. “Today and every day, remind your loved ones how valuable they are. Remind them of the potentially lethal consequences that can come from drug experimentation. Fentanyl is deadly and its presence in other drugs can go unnoticed until it’s too late. Start the conversation and help save a life.”
At the time of his offense, Mora was on supervised release following a robbery conviction in 2018.
The case was investigated by both the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha Reitz prosecuted.
