St. Louis Man Found Guilty of Selling Fatal Dose of Fentanyl

ST. LOUIS – Jurors in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Thursday found a St. Louis man guilty of selling the fentanyl that killed an 18-year-old woman in 2023.

Jurors convicted Bobby Lee Jones, 27, one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. Jones’ started Monday.

The 18-year-old victim initially reached out to Jones on the morning of Jan. 15, 2023, asking in a text message for marijuana, evidence and testimony during the trial showed. After a series of messages, he offered to also sell her the pain pill Percocet, and they met shortly after 7 p.m. to exchange cash for the drugs, the messages show. But the pills were fake and contained a fatal dose of fentanyl, evidence showed. Around midnight, when her boyfriend tried to reach her, she was not answering calls or texts. He found her the next day.

Jones’ sentencing has yet to be scheduled. The fentanyl charge carries a penalty of at least 20 years in prison.

Jones’ trial on unrelated carjacking and firearm charges is scheduled for January 5, 2026. Charges set forth in that indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case was investigated 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.