Uintah man given 12 years in prison for distributing fentanyl that led to friend's death

SALT LAKE CITY — A man from Uintah County will serve more than 12 years in prison for distributing fentanyl that caused the death of another person.

Jerod Arthur Young, 50, of Fort Duchesne, was initially indicted in April 2024 on a charge of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. The charge stemmed from November 2023, when Young sold fentanyl to a victim who died shortly after.

Court documents state that the victim was in phone communication with Young, and they were involved in a financial transaction around the time of her death.

"Young admitted to providing the fentanyl pills to the victim for approximately $80. The pills were tested, and were positive for fentanyl. The medical examiner opined that the cause of death was fentanyl toxicity, and the amount in the victim's system was characterized as a toxic and lethal amount," prosecutors said in a motion for detention.

Young pleaded guilty in March to a reduced charge of distribution of fentanyl. He was sentenced on Aug. 27 to 151 months in prison plus three years of probation.

In his plea statement, Young admitted that the victim died after using the pills he sold her and he called law enforcement to tell them he was the one who sold her the drugs.

According to court records, Young has a history of criminal convictions, including several drug trafficking charges, stretching back to 1995. He was on pretrial release for 2023 charges when he sold the deadly drug to the victim, federal prosecutors said.

"Despite interventions with the criminal justice system, (Young) has gone back to drug trafficking at some point each time, and this incident resulted in another's death," federal prosecutors said.

Young began alcohol use and marijuana use as a child and started abusing methamphetamine at just 18 years old, prosecutors explained in a sentencing memorandum.

"His criminal record looks like it was generated entirely by his drug addiction and his need to obtain money in order to feed that addiction," prosecutors said

Prosectors said Young had supplied the opioids to his friend who was "in constant pain" and he was "trying to help out in the way that drug abusing friends help one another." But once the death occurred, Young was immediately remorseful, called police and admitted himself to an inpatient treatment program, prosecutors said.

Young will undergo substance abuse treatment while incarcerated and will be subject to continual drug testing and treatment during probation, court records show.

"No measure of justice can erase the loss of a life," said U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak for the District of Utah. "However, we hope Young's lengthy prison sentence sends a strong message to those who push dangerous drugs into our communities, and that it offers the victim's family a starting point for healing after such a tragic loss."

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