Colorado Springs woman suspected of providing fentanyl to a teen resulting in overdose death of a Mitchell High School student

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - A Colorado Springs woman is facing serious charges as she’s suspected of providing fentanyl to a high school student, resulting in a death.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado shared some details on the tragic incident with the public on Wednesday. According to a news release, Alexis Nicole Wilkins is suspected of distributing fentanyl to two teen girls in the parking lot of the Citadel Mall on Dec. 2.

“The two juvenile girls to whom Wilkins allegedly dealt the fentanyl pill took the pill to school the next morning, where they shared it with a third juvenile female who overdosed,” part of the release adds.

The teen was taken to the hospital where she later passed.

Wilkins appeared in federal court in Denver on Wednesday. According to arrest papers, the drug was taken to Mitchell High School. A D-11 spokesperson reached out to 11 News to clarify that the student who died passed away at the hospital and not inside the school, contrary to what the news release originally stated.

“This is a tragic and heartbreaking event. Colorado Springs School District 11 shares our collective condolences for the family for the loss of their child,” part of a statement from a D-11 spokesperson reads. “In an effort to be more proactive in the face of this crisis, the District is working to bring more widespread awareness and knowledge of the dangers of fentanyl to hopefully save more lives in the future because the loss of one child is one too many.”

The arrest papers add that Wilkins had a criminal history. She had pleaded guilty to abuse/negligence on Dec. 8, 2021 and was sentenced to 12 months of probation. Prior to that, she had been convicted of theft in several cases. Investigators interviewed the surviving teens to help identify Wilkins. A warrant was obtained and investigators were able to review Facebook posts and messages by Wilkins, which appeared to show Wilkins was dealing drugs on multiple occasions. When a warrant was executed at her home and vehicle, officers found 100 blue pills marked with “M” and “30.” They also recovered more than $7,000 in cash.

The arrest papers state Wilkins told investigators she had been selling fentanyl pills for about six months.

Distribution of fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, carries a potential penalty of no less than 20 years and up to life in prison, a fine of no more than $1,000,000, and no less than three years of supervised release.

The following statement was sent to the D-11 community, unrelated to Mitchell specifically:

“As the Chief Communications Officer for Colorado Springs School District 11, I write many of the messages from the district that end up in your inbox. But today, I’m writing to you as a parent of a high school junior in this district to implore you to learn more about a crisis facing our children today.
Deaths from fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl are surging across the country and right here in our school district. Over the course of this school year alone, we have lost students to overdose deaths— teenagers who had hopes and dreams, and plans. These teenagers had families who loved them and are still coming to grips with their losses.
Here is what’s happening: teens are purchasing what they think are OxyContin, Percocet, or Xanax pills via social media, but drug dealers are selling fake pills with the cheaper, stronger, and a more deadly synthetic drug called fentanyl. Fentanyl is up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl is odorless, tasteless, and colorless. Teens never know what they’re getting. One pill can kill them. One pill.
You may be thinking to yourself, “my child isn’t caught up in the drug culture” or “my child wouldn’t even know where to get something like that.” Does your child have a cell phone? Is your child on social media platforms? If the answer is “yes,” they likely do know about the teen drug culture and do have easy access. Much like the vaping epidemic that we experienced in 2018 and 2019, parents are often the last to know.
During the last quarter of this school year, the District is launching a fentanyl awareness campaign, called “Fake & Fatal.” D11 staff members have been offered special training and information to learn more about the dangers of fentanyl. You’ll soon see social media posts on our district’s social media accounts with facts and resources listed. We’ll be promoting resources on our district website and in this letter, and our high school students will be asked to engage in conversations over the next several weeks. The purpose of the campaign is to bring awareness to this crisis, start more conversations with students in our schools, and ultimately save lives.
I ask you to be engaged with this campaign to learn more about how this drug interacts with a body’s system, how it’s distributed, and how it’s dramatically impacting communities across the country. Please watch this video presentation for a better understanding of this fake opioid crisis. Working with Children’s Hospital Colorado, we’ve posted a thorough list of crisis resources and contacts in our community that you may view by clicking here. Thank you for partnering with D11 to help keep our students healthy, strong, and thriving
-Devra Ashby, Chief Communications Officer for D-11