ST. LOUIS – A Missouri man appeared in federal court on Wednesday and was sentenced for supplying the fentanyl that killed a St. Francois County Jail inmate.
Prosecutors with the Eastern District of Missouri’s U.S. Attorney’s Office said Garry W. Triplett, now 38, supplied the drugs to Timothy L. Noll.
Noll, 35, arrived at the jail on July 27, 2021. Noll contacted an intermediary and instructed that person to get the drugs from Triplett and hide them in a Bible.
The intermediary arranged for the delivery of the Bible to Noll at the jail on August 1. However, Noll discovered the next day that his transfer to a state prison would prevent him from bringing the Bible with him.
Noll asked jail staff to give the Bible to his cellmate.
Two days later, the unidentified cellmate passed away from mixed drug intoxication. Prosecutors said the victim had 19 ng/mL of fentanyl in his bloodstream. As little as 3 ng/mL can be fatal.
Triplett pleaded guilty on May 28 to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances resulting in death and one count of distributing controlled substances.
Noll was sentenced in November to 22 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances resulting in death and one count of distribution of controlled substances resulting in death.
A U.S. District Court judge sentenced Triplett to 16 years in federal prison.