As a teen, Colin Shapard bought drugs online that ultimately killed two Park City boys, overdoses that shocked the mountain town in 2016.
Shapard was 15 at the time, and the synthetic opioids he purchased that ended up in the 13-year-olds’ hands weren’t yet illegal — which meant Shapard walked away from the tragedy without a jail sentence. Instead, he was ordered to complete a residential drug treatment program as part of his juvenile probation.
He went on to attend a teen wilderness program, enter another inpatient treatment program and enroll in college as he eventually developed post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, which doctors believed caused him to have seizures, court filings state. After two shoulder injuries in 2020 that happened during such seizures, he was prescribed opioids as he awaited reparative surgery.
The pills he took for the pain eventually ran out, prompting Shapard to once again seek out opioid-based drugs online, prosecutors say.
By the next year, he was selling the drugs he bought, leading to the 2022 overdose of another Park City resident and a new criminal case that a federal judge ruled Thursday will result in at least 20 years prison.
“In the 10 years that I’ve been prosecuting cases like this, I think Mr. Shapard is is probably one of the most dangerous individuals that I’ve ever encountered,” assistant U.S. Attorney Sirena Miller said during a news conference Friday.
“Even after the deaths of two 13-year-old classmates in 2016, he continued to [acquire and distribute drugs], knowing full well what the potential consequences were,” Miller continued. “And I have not seen, in my career, someone with such an incredibly callous disregard for the lives of other people.”
Shapard’s next foray into buying, selling drugs
(Jordan Miller | The Salt Lake Tribune) Fentanyl pills seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration at their Salt Lake City office on April 4, 2024. The 18-year-old who overdosed in 2022 after ingesting drugs that Colin Shapard mailed him thought he was taking oxycodone, but it was fentanyl.
The 18-year-old who overdosed in 2022 after ingesting drugs that Shapard mailed him thought he was taking oxycodone. But despite the pills’ appearance, they contained fentanyl, prosecutors say.
The teen’s father found him unconscious and called 911, leading to his resuscitation and subsequent hospitalization.
“It is very fortunate that paramedics were able to arrive in time to administer the Narcan to revive the victim,” a court filing in the latest case states.
The overdose came about two months after an undercover Drug Enforcement Agent in December 2021 had ordered opioids from Shapard over an encrypted messaging platform, charging documents state. At the time, Shapard presented the drugs as legitimate pharmaceuticals sourced from Canada, containing only oxycodone — not fentanyl.
In an apparent bid to reassure the undercover agent, Shapard said he tested each shipment of pills he received himself to confirm they did not contain fentanyl, court documents state. More than a month later, on Jan. 31, 2022, U.S. Postal Service cameras showed Shapard mailing the agent the drugs.
On Feb. 4, 2022, three days after the 18-year-old overdosed in Park City, the agent received Shapard’s shipment in Salt Lake City. All of the pills ultimately tested positive for fentanyl, prosecutors say.
When the undercover agent again ordered opioids from Shapard that February, Shapard sent the agent a message to ensure he had received the pills, court documents state. When the agent didn’t immediately respond over the weekend, Shapard seemed to have become worried before the agent replied.
“Oh thank god,” Shapard said in a message to the agent, according to court documents. “Just wanted to check in and make sure you weren’t dead, as never a good sign when someone goes MIA after getting a f--- ton of opiates.”
The latest case
The next month, in March 2022, Shapard was charged with one count of distribution of a controlled substance that resulted in serious bodily injury in connection with the teen’s overdose. He also initially faced five counts of distribution of a controlled substance.
He pleaded guilty to the first charge on Dec. 1, and the five other counts were dismissed in accordance with his plea agreement.
On Thursday, he was sentenced to the mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison.
“There is no question that the offense of conviction in this case is extremely serious,” Shapard’s sentencing memorandum states. “... Although twenty years is the minimum sentence for this offense, it is still very substantial, particularly in light of [Shapard’s] age and lack of adult criminal history.”
The 18-year-old who overdosed on the drugs he bought from Shapard chose not to appear Thursday at Shapard’s sentencing hearing, said Miller, the federal prosecutor, to the judge.
She added that the man is doing well, but still “struggles with a number of issues,” including the guilt she said he carries for surviving the overdose, unlike the two Park City boys who didn’t in 2016.
Miller said during the Friday news conference that Shapard’s arrest and prison sentence stood to save lives.
“I am sorry for the pain and suffering my reckless actions have caused,” Shapard said during his sentencing hearing. “I’m sorry for those whose pain I dredged up because of my actions.”
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