Neosho woman pleads guilty to fentanyl trafficking

Chrystal Dawn Fanning, 42, Neosho, pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute during a hearing this morning in U. S. District Court in Springfield.

A presentence investigation was ordered. No date has been scheduled for sentencing.

According to the plea agreement, the minimum sentence for Fanning would be 10 years.

The crime was described in the plea agreement:

On or about September 21, 2024, an officer with the Missouri State Highway Patrol conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle near the intersection of U. S. Highway 60 and Missouri Highway 43 in Newton County, within the Western District of Missouri, wherein the defendant was identified as the passenger.

A Newton County, Missouri Sheriff's Deputy and K9 handler was on scene to assist and conducted a free air sniff of the vehicle with his K9. The K9 provided a positive alert to the vehicle and the vehicle was subsequently searched.

Law enforcement located blue, M-30 fentanyl pills in a black Reebok backpack that contained men's clothes on the back seat of the vehicle, as well as located a large quantity of blue M-30 fentanyl pills in a tan cloth bag in the back trunk. A field test was conducted on one of the pills and indicated the positive presence of fentanyl.

The vehicle was towed to the MSHP office for further search and examination and Fanning and the driver were transported to be interviewed.

Fanning was interviewed after she indicated she understood  and had been advised of her Miranda rights. During the interview, Fanning said that she was returning from Fort Worth, Texas, when she was stopped by law enforcement. Fanning admitted to being involved in the distribution of fentanyl and had been so involved for a long time.

Fanning admitted to taking $17,000 to Fort Worth to obtain fentanyl pills. She stated she purchased 6,000 pills while in Fort Worth and obtained them from two separate locations. She paid $3,000 for 2,000 pills at one location and $7,000 for 4,000 pills at another location. Durign the interview, Fanning stated she was the person distributing fentanyl in Eagle Rock, Missouri.

At the MSHP office, upon further search of the vehicle, law enforcement located additional drugs inside a purple purse located in the front seat passenger seat area. Specifically, he located approximately one ounce of a substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine, and approximately eight grains of a substance that field tested positive for heroin.

Additional green pills were located as well. Inside the same purse, law enforcement located approximately $4,473 in U. S. currency. In a white canvas bag in the rear cargo area, law enforcement located a box of tamper resistant bags that matched the bags that the fentanyl pills were located in, and a Visa debit card in Fanning's name.

The suspected fentanyl pills were submitted to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Crime Laboratory for testing where it was confirmed that the pills contained fentanyl and weighed approximately 636.3 grams.