Cheyenne Man Gets 5 Years for Selling Fentanyl Linked to Death
A 27-year-old Cheyenne man who admittedly sold fentanyl resulting in the buyer's death has been sentenced to federal prison, the United States Attorney's Office announced Monday.
Senior U.S. District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal on Nov. 30 sentenced Shelby Toby Girten to five years in prison for distribution of fentanyl.
Freudenthal also ordered Girten to pay $500 in community restitution.
According to a criminal complaint filed on June 2, 2023, Cheyenne police were called to a deceased individual in the 4000 block of Cheyenne Street on Feb. 6, 2023, and arrived to find a male identified as M.A. dead from a suspected drug overdose.
It was found that M.A. purchased $40 in fentanyl pills (four pills) from Girten the night prior and then used half a pill.
Girten told a detective that he knew M.A. to use fentanyl pills and cocaine, and that he had bought the fentanyl pills from Kyle Rozell.
Girten also told the detective that he deleted all Facebook Messenger conversations and his Facebook account after finding out that M.A. died because he was "scared," because he sold fentanyl pills to M.A. the night prior.
On March 22, 2023, the detective applied for and received a search warrant for Girten's Facebook account information, and found Girten regularly communicated with M.A. over Facebook Messenger to arrange drug transactions.
The detective also observed Facebook messages that indicated Girten and M.A. discussed purchasing fentanyl pills on Feb. 5, 2023, the night before M.A.'s death.
An autopsy found that M.A. died of complications of combined cocaine and fentanyl toxicity.