Sioux Falls man sentenced to 35 years in prison for selling fentanyl that killed two

Hunter Dunteman, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
·2 min read
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Aug. 14—SIOUX FALLS — A Sioux Falls man will spend more than three decades in federal prison after selling fentanyl in 2018 and 2019 which resulted in the deaths of two individuals.

Jeffery Darnell Moore, 53, of Sioux Falls, was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution was also ordered.

The sentencing came Aug. 10, nearly three months after he was convicted in a jury trial of two counts of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin.

The charges stem from November 2018, when Moore knowingly and intentionally distributed fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, and the distribution of the opioid resulted in the death of an individual.

Then, in June 2019, Moore again knowingly and intentionally distributed fentanyl which resulted in the death of a second individual.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) considers to be 80-100 times stronger than morphine. Originally developed for use via skin patches to treat severe pain in cancer patients, its properties have led it to become common for use in heroin distribution.

The DEA says fentanyl is added to heroin to increase its potency or to be disguised as highly potent heroin. Many users believe that they are purchasing heroin and actually don't know that they are purchasing fentanyl, often resulting in overdose deaths.

It doesn't take much fentanyl to overdose either. According to

the DEA's Facts about Fentanyl webpage,

a dose as small as two milligrams can be fatal depending on a person's body size, tolerance and past usage.

Moore was originally indicted by a federal grand jury on the charges in July 2020, after the case was investigated by the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force, DEA and Homeland Security Investigations.

Following his sentencing, Moore was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.