St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 84 Months in Prison for Selling Fentanyl

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Wednesday sentenced a man from St. Louis County, Missouri who sold drugs to a woman who later died to 84 months in prison.

Donald Lawrence Bateman, 28, pleaded guilty in January to distribution of a controlled substance and possession with the intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing fentanyl. He admitted selling illegal drugs to a St. Louis woman who was found dead the next day. In a series of text messages, Bateman and the victim discussed the sale of $90 worth of drugs, and what Bateman had available, including reference to pills referred to by them as “30s.” 

The victim’s blood sample contained, among other things, fentanyl and ethanol. 

Seventeen blue pills labeled “M30” that contained fentanyl, 14 green pills and a firearm were later found in Bateman’s possession.

Courtesy of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Bateman and his lawyers disputed that the pills were the cause of the victim’s death, but after witness testimony and evidence was presented Wednesday, Judge Ross said that Bateman’s sale of the drugs was central to her death.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cort VanOstran, James Delworth and Samantha Reitz prosecuted the case.