Local News: Jackson man sentenced to 12 years in prison for selling fentanyl (08/21/24)

Rodney G. Harris, 45, of Jackson, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl.

His sentence was handed down to him by District Judge Matthew T. Schelp at the Rush Hudson Limbaugh Sr. U.S. Courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Harris admitted at his guilty plea hearing earlier this year to selling the fentanyl to a Cape Girardeau County individual twice in 2022. The press release said Harris did not know that the person who purchased the drugs was a law enforcement informant.

“According to court records, Harris has multiple felony convictions, including multiple convictions for methamphetamine trafficking. At the time he sold the fentanyl, Harris was under probation supervision by the State of Missouri due to a 2013 methamphetamine trafficking conviction,” the press release states.

The Cape Girardeau Sheriff's Office, the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Koester prosecuted for the government.