Two Sentenced After Pleading Guilty To Fentanyl Related Deaths

DENVER - The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado announces that Thomas Galiano III, 26, of Colorado Springs, and Hailee Anne Helton, 26, of Colorado Springs were separately sentenced after each pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with an intent to distribute a substance containing fentanyl. Galiano III was sentenced to 144 months. Helton was sentenced to 168 months.

According to the plea agreements, in August 2022, the Colorado Springs Police Department responded to a call to a unit at the Mountain View Apartment Homes on West Meadow Drive. Inside the unit, police found a 31-year-old man who was deceased. Evidence gathered at the scene included one blue tablet bearing an M-30 imprint, which later tested positive for fentanyl. Evidence collected at the scene, and electronic data, including CashApp payments and social media communications, demonstrated that Helton and Galiano sold the deceased man the drugs.

In October 2022, Pueblo County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a residence on Park Road in Rye, Colorado, after a call about an unresponsive 18-year-old woman. At that scene, investigators found a small black bag with three blue tablets bearing an M-30 imprint, which later tested positive for fentanyl. Evidence, including electronic data from social media, connected the pills to Helton and Galiano.

In a third incident, also in October 2022, an undercover officer in Colorado Springs engaged Helton and Galliano in a drug deal in which the undercover officer purchased 16 fentanyl pills for $150 from Helton and Galiano.

"Fentanyl is a scourge on our society, and it has claimed the lives of two more young people in our community," said United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly. "These cases should serve as a warning to other fentanyl dealers that selling even just a handful of pills can put you in federal prison for a very long time."

"Fentanyl continues to take lives within our community, and two lives are lost due to the careless actions of these drug dealers," said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Amanda Koldjeski. "Working jointly with the Colorado Springs Police Department, FBI Denver was able to bring a measure of justice to their families and accountability to those responsible. We will not stop and will continue to target drug traffickers who bring violence and misery to our community."

"While no sentence can bring the victims in this case back, we hope this outcome provides a measure of justice and comfort to their families and loved ones," said Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez. "We remain unwavering in our commitment to aggressively pursuing those who profit from poisoning our community."

"The loss of a life to fentanyl is devastating, and we take every overdose death seriously. Our crime scene and narcotics detectives' exceptional work in this case ensured that those who supplied the drugs were brought to justice," said Pueblo County Sheriff David J. Lucero, "This outcome reflects our commitment to treating these cases with the seriousness they deserve."

United States District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney presided over the sentencings.

The FBI Colorado Springs Resident Agency, the Colorado Springs Police Department, and the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office handled the investigation.

The Transnational Organized Crime and Money Laundering Section handled the prosecution.

Case Numbers: 23-cr-00371-CNS