St. Louis Felon Found Responsible for Detainee’s Fentanyl Overdose, Sentenced to 157 Months in Prison

ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Wednesday sentenced a felon caught with a gun to 157 months in prison after finding him responsible for supplying the fentanyl that caused a fatal overdose in 2024.

Alantae Garner, 31, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in June to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Nov. 17, 2023, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers spotted him in the driver's seat of a stolen 2019 Kia Rio. When officers approached, Garner walked away, then ran before being detained. Police found a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun in his bag. Garner admitted owning the gun and said he bought the Kia for $500.

Garner was arrested on the federal charge on July 25, 2024. During Wednesday's sentencing hearing, evidence and testimony showed that while awaiting his first appearance in court, he supplied fentanyl to another detainee, who overdosed in a holding cell. Deputy U.S. Marshals attempted to revive the victim, but he later died at a hospital.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Christian Goeke prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.