A Colorado Springs woman was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in federal prison for selling a fentanyl pill that caused a Mitchell High School student to fatally overdose, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.

Alexis Wilkins, 28, pleaded guilty to a charge of “distribution of fentanyl, resulting in death” in November. After serving her 20-year custodial sentence, she will have three years on supervised release.

Wilkins received the low end of a sentence for her crime: Fentanyl distribution resulting in death carries a penalty of 20 years to life in prison, a fine up to $1 million and at least three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Two juveniles bought two pills from Wilkins in the parking lot of The Citadel mall on Dec. 2, 2021, according to a March arrest affidavit. Two juvenile witnesses told investigators they were in a school bathroom with the victim the next day when she took a pill that she thought was Percocet. During class, the girl collapsed and began “foaming at the mouth,” according to court documents.

First responders worked on the overdose victim and took her to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead, arrest documents show. The El Paso County coroner determined that the teen died of “fentanyl intoxication,” officials said.

Investigators identified Wilkins as the dealer who sold the fatal pill through Facebook messages, including one that appeared to arrange a sale the night before the fatal overdose.

On March 15, 2022, FBI agents and Colorado Springs police executed a search warrant on Wilkins’ home, where they found more than 100 pills marked with “M” and “30” that later tested positive for fentanyl, officials said. Some of the pills appeared to be packaged for sale.

“Alexis Wilkins sold poison to unsuspecting kids in Colorado Springs. No prison sentence can bring back her victim or undo the harm she caused; this outcome does mean she is no longer selling deadly drugs,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek.

“As our hearts go out to the victim, her family, and her friends, I ask everyone in Colorado to be on guard and share the message with others,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. 

“Unless a drug comes from a pharmacist, please do not take it. Any illicit drug could contain fentanyl and, if it does, it could kill you.”