Jackson man sentenced to 12 years in prison for selling fentanyl

Jackson’s Rodney G. Harris, 45, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for the distribution of fentanyl.

He received his sentence from District Judge Matthew T. Schelp at the Rush Hudson Limbaugh Sr. U.S. courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

According to an office of the United States attorney news release, at Harris’ guilty plea hearing earlier this year, he admitted to selling the fentanyl to a Cape Girardeau County person two different times in 2022. The release stated Harris didn’t know the person who purchased the drugs was an informant for law enforcement.

“According to court documents, Harris has multiple felony convictions, including several convictions for methamphetamine-trafficking offenses. At the time he sold the fentanyl, Harris was on parole supervision through the State of Missouri stemming from a 2013 conviction for distributing methamphetamine,” the release stated.

Cape Girardeau Sheriff’s Office, the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case and Assistant United States Attorney Jack Koester did the prosecution for the government.