St. Louis Fentanyl Dealers Sentenced to Prison

ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a fentanyl dealer from St. Louis to prison for 155 months in prison, days after sending a co-defendant to prison for 210 months.

Sentenced Tuesday was Toneisha D. Smith, 27, who sold fentanyl to the Drug Enforcement Administration and nearly hit three DEA task force officers with her car when they were investigating her. Trequan A. Dotson, 25, was sentenced on April 2. Three others have also been convicted.

Police responding to a violent domestic dispute at Dotson's home in the 4600 block of Newport Avenue in St. Louis in August of 2023 found fentanyl, a money counting machine, $10,111 in cash and two AR-style rifles, one AK-style pistol and four AR-style pistols, many with large-capacity magazines. Police then found more fentanyl and drug paraphernalia at an apartment in the 2300 block of South 7th Street, which Dotson used for manufacturing and distributing fentanyl. Police found more fentanyl after Dotson led them on a high-speed chase on Oct. 16, 2023.

After being jailed, Dotson told another member of the drug trafficking conspiracy to supply fentanyl to Smith and taught Smith how to mix fentanyl with cutting agents before selling it. Smith admitted that she and her co-defendants, including Larry C. Hayes III, sold fentanyl to the DEA from March to June of 2024.

During a court-approved search of Smith's home on Miami Street in St. Louis on April 1, 2024, investigators found Smith, Hayes and Marcel Harris along with fentanyl, cash and an AR-style pistol. On June 18, 2024, investigators were preparing for another court-approved search of a residence on Sidney Street in St. Louis. Smith left the home and got into her vehicle before officers and agents arrived. When she saw task force officers approach her vehicle, she sped away, aiming her Kia K5 at three of the task force officers. The officers were able to jump out of the way. Smith drove over the parking lot curb and through an adjoining yard and trees before flattening all four tires when she drove off a small embankment. She ultimately escaped. Investigators found fentanyl, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in the home. They also found a Rock River Arms AR-15 that had been stolen from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

"This investigation is a prime example of the dangers DEA personnel face on a daily basis protecting our communities from drug-related violence and the drugs that are poisoning our citizens," said Special Agent in Charge Michael A. Davis, DEA St. Louis Division. "We remain relentless in our pursuit of drug traffickers wreaking havoc on the American people, as we work towards a Fentanyl Free America."

Smith was charged by complaint on June 18, 2024, and investigators found her and Hayes in a home on California Avenue the next day, along with fentanyl and drug paraphernalia.

Smith pleaded guilty in December to one count each of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, assaulting or resisting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Dotson pleaded guilty in September to one count of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of fentanyl in a separate, 2023 case and admitted violating his supervised release in a 2019 case.

Hayes, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Harris, 23, of Jennings, Missouri, pleaded guilty in June to a fentanyl conspiracy charge. In addition to the conduct described above, he admitted being caught twice by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department with fentanyl, including after an Aug. 10, 2023, high-speed chase. U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp sentenced Harris to 10 years in prison in September.

The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Voss prosecuted the case.