Shelbyville Woman Sentenced to 21 Years for Distributing Heroin that Resulted in a Death

    FRANKFORT, Ky. – Yesterday, Kari Dawn Yount, 32, of Shelbyville, Kentucky, was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison, by U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, for distributing heroin that caused an overdose death.  An individual identified in court documents as C.N.M., 22, fatally overdosed on a mixture of heroin and acrylfentanyl, on March 1, 2017, in Franklin County.  The investigation by the Frankfort Police Department identified Yount as the person responsible for selling the drug mixture to C.N.M.  Yount pleaded guilty to the offense on March 25, 2019.

Under federal law, Yount must serve 85 percent of her sentence.  Upon her release from prison, she will also be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation office, for a period of five years.

“When people distribute these dangerous drugs, they are placing many lives and their own freedom in jeopardy,” said Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.  “To be clear,  we are committed to combatting illegal opioid distribution  with all the tools available to us.  The potential for significant sentences, such as this one, loom for those convicted of selling this poison and causing needless deaths.  We are thankful for the great work of our law enforcement partners, as we all work toward reducing the impact of the opioid scourge in our communities.” 

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; D. Christopher Evans, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Louisville; and Charles Adams, Chief of Police, Frankfort Police Department, jointly made the announcement. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Bradbury.