Fentanyl Fight: law enforcement launches outcry over lax laws

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The fentanyl fight is heating up in Colorado. The street drug is now responsible for killing nearly 100 people in El Paso County 2021; its victims in Colorado now eclipse those who've succumbed to methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin overdoses. 

And yet possessing four grams, roughly a teaspoon, or less of the deadly drug will only garner a misdemeanor charge.

For reference, six grains of the drug can kill; one gram is worth 100 "hits" of the drug.

It wasn't always that way: prior to 2019, the same amount would carry a felony charge. That fact, now three years removed, is garnering increased harsh criticism and calls for change from southern Colorado's top law enforcement officials.

"Legislators are on a different planet.  They don't see what law enforcement is going through on a day-to-day basis," said an impassioned Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers during a news conference in January. 

"They ought to be listening to these guys and law enforcement and district attorneys office more than they do," Suthers said, gesturing to the leaders surrounding him.

4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen echoes the sentiment. 

"Marijuana is not the same thing as fentanyl, but yet fentanyl is being treated the same way as marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, all these different drugs -- and not all of them have the same effect on people as fentanyl does," Allen said during a later interview.  

Much of the pushback centers around House Bill 19-1263, which decriminalized fentanyl from a felony to a misdemeanor.  It was sponsored by state Senator Pete Lee (D-Colorado Springs), former state Senator Vickie Marble (R-Broomfield), state Representative Shane Sandridge (R-El Paso County), and Leslie Herod (D-Denver County).

We tried contacting Lee and Sandridge multiple times to ask if they would reconsider classifying fentanyl. Neither responded to the question.

In December 2021, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser pledged to work with legislators to address the growing crisis.

"Dealers selling counterfeit pills with fentanyl in our communities are peddling substances that can kill. The legislature should increase penalties for those that deliberately hand off fentanyl and fentanyl-laced drugs to unsuspecting users, resulting in accidental overdoses,” said Weiser. “Four grams of fentanyl is not the same as four grams of cocaine or any other illegal drug. The legislature should re-evaluate whether a felony charge is appropriate for possessing this amount of fentanyl.”

To date, no bill has been introduced; however, a spokesperson for Weiser says that a bill is currently being drafted to address the threat of fentanyl.

It's unknown how a change in classification would affect the outcome of Oswaldo Beltran's case.  Beltran was arrested in July of 2021, and accused of bringing 13,000 pills containing fentanyl from California to Colorado Springs.  According to an arrest affidavit, Beltran's pills had a gross weight of 1,630 grams.

He was originally charged with one count of possession with intent to manufacture or distribute a controlled substance, and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, but was offered a plea deal erasing the latter charge.

Beltran was ultimately sentenced to five years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.

That plea is nothing unusual: up to 95% of cases end with a plea deal, which is why DA Allen says a greater charge is necessary to achieve a more just sentence, and cooperation from suspects.