Local News in Colorado: A drug dealer, Bruce Holder, was convicted for killing a man in 2017 because of Fentanyl.

Drug dealer Bruce Holder was convicted of being the source of fentanyl that killed a man in 2017. He was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday at the urging of the government and parents of overdose victims. Prosecutors said he brought tens of thousands of pills spiked with fentanyl to western Colorado (Fox News, 2023).

Holder was given a life sentence by U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello after she determined that the government had also established previous acts by Holder for which he was not found guilty. Holder, 57, was convicted in 2021 of distribution of fentanyl resulting in the death of John Ellington, 30, of Carbondale, as well as conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and counterfeit substances.

Those factors included possessing guns, allegedly using bribes to help secure the pills on frequent trips to Mexico, being the leader of a criminal enterprise of five or more people, and recruiting his teen son to sell pills to help pay for shoes and equipment he needed to play sports. Bruce Holder, 57, received life in prison for distributing fentanyl that has killed several people in Colorado. Bruce Holder, 57, was sentenced for distributing fentanyl that has killed several people in Colorado. His son sold pills to help pay for shoes and equipment he needed to play sports.

The pills were made to look like oxycodone but contained fentanyl, a judge ruled. Bruce Holder’s wife and daughter were previously prosecuted and sentenced for their roles in the case.

U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan says the sentence is the longest ever handed down in federal court for such a case. Holder made numerous attempts to explain how he was falsely implicated. It was occasionally necessary for his attorneys to temporarily disconnect him.