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Investigators suspect counterfeit oxycodone pill killed teen

Three adults are facing drug charges after a 16-year-old boy was found dead in his bedroom in January. The boy’s mother is among those charged.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Court documents reveal a boy’s life may have ended after he ingested a blue counterfeit prescription pill that’s designed to mimic oxycodone, but instead contained fentanyl. 

9Wants to Know obtained federal court records showing two adults, Douglas Floyd and Marlene McGuire, have been arrested on federal drug charges and are accused of selling drugs to the boy and his friends. 

KRDO-TV reports the teen’s mother, Maria Davis-Conchie, has also been charged on state-level drug charges in the case. 

Federal records accuse Davis-Conchie of helping connect her son and his friends to Floyd and McGuire so they could obtain the pills.

Federal court documents filed in Colorado's U.S. District Court describe how the teen and two of his friends purchased four blue pills from Floyd at a fire station in Colorado Springs on January 30. The next morning, the 16-year-old was found dead in his bedroom. 

The documents say investigators found two of the four pills the teen purchased in a plastic bag that was recovered from his bedroom. 

Law enforcement and advocacy groups have been raising alarms about the counterfeit blue pills commonly known as “blues,” “M30S,” or “30s.” The pills are manufactured in Mexico with fentanyl, which is highly potent and cheap to make. 

“The cartels know that if they make these counterfeits look like prescription medicine, that people will be more susceptible to using them and it’s just deceitful,” said Andrea Thomas of Voices for Awareness.

Thomas created the non-profit Voices for Awareness to raise alarms about fentanyl use. Thomas’ daughter died after taking a counterfeit pill in 2018, believing it would help with pancreatitis.  

The Drug Enforcement Administration has launched a “One Pill Can Kill” campaign in which the agency says criminal networks “are mass-producing fake pills and falsely marketing them as legitimate prescription pills to deceive the American public.” 

If you have any more information about this story or would like to send tips, you can email jeremy@9news.com

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