Sikeston man gets 10 years in prison for selling fentanyl

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — A Sikeston man was sentenced to serve 10 years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl.

Steven K. Townsend, 33, appeared for his sentencing hearing Friday, March 14 before United States District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.

At his guilty plea hearing last year, Townsend admitted that he sold a quantity of fentanyl to an individual in Sikeston in July 2023. Unbeknownst to Townsend at the time, the individual purchasing the fentanyl was working as an informant for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). According to court documents, Townsend was on parole supervision through the State of Missouri for a prior drug-trafficking conviction when he sold the fentanyl. After serving the 10-year sentence in federal prison, Townsend will be placed on a 3-year term of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the DEA and the Sikeston Department of Public Safety. Assistant United States Attorney Jack Koester handled the prosecution for the Government.