Man Charged After Kids Ate Fentanyl-Positive Gummies at School Accepts Plea Deal

A man charged after seven elementary school students in Amherst, Virginia, ate gummies from a bag that later tested positive for fentanyl accepted a plea deal on Monday.

The December incident at Central Elementary School sent five children to the hospital. Following this, a search warrant was issued for Clifford Dugan Jr.’s residence, resulting in charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Dugan pleaded guilty to the firearm charge on Monday, and in return, his contributing to the delinquency of a minor charge was dismissed.

Amherst County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Adam Stanley stated that Dugan’s charges stemmed from the search warrant and are separate from the gummy bear incident, which remains under investigation.

Authorities reported in December that one student brought the bag of candy to school and shared it with six other students during lunch. After consuming the gummies, two children were rushed to the hospital by ambulance, and three others were taken to the hospital by their parents. A school resource officer noticed residue in the bag, which later tested positive for fentanyl.

All five students who received medical attention recovered within a week, according to the Amherst New Era-Progress.

Dugan and 26-year-old Nicole Sanders were arrested shortly after the incident. Sanders was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and possession of a schedule I or II drug. She is scheduled to appear in court next week, and Dugan’s sentencing is set for August 12.

In 2022, the Drug Enforcement Agency warned of “an alarming emerging trend” of fentanyl pills made to look like candy.

“Rainbow fentanyl fentanyl pills and powder that come in a variety of bright colors, shapes, and sizes is a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said. “The men and women of the DEA are relentlessly working to stop the trafficking of rainbow fentanyl and defeat the Mexican drug cartels that are responsible for the vast majority of the fentanyl that is being trafficked in the United States.”

Fentanyl is around 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin, according to the DEA. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that nearly 75,000 Americans died from drug overdoses involving synthetic opioids — primarily fentanyl — in 2023, a slight decrease from 2022 when over 76,000 people died from synthetic opioid overdoses.

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