April Adams of Hensley has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl resulting in death. The sentence was announced by Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and was issued by United States District Judge James M. Moody, Jr.
Adams, 62, and her daughter Amber Church, 38, were indicted on April 2, 2024, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl resulting in death. In addition to the fentanyl-related conviction, Adams received a concurrent 20-year sentence for distribution of methamphetamine. She will also serve three years of supervised release following her prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Evidence presented at trial showed that on April 16, 2023, Saline County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a residence on Crab Apple Circle due to multiple overdoses. Four individuals had overdosed; three survived after receiving Narcan from medical personnel while one person died at the scene.
During the trial, two survivors testified that Adams offered methamphetamine to them as well as Church and the victim who died. After using methamphetamine, Church asked Adams for what she referred to as “cocaine” from Adams’ room. Church retrieved the substance and shared it with the group; it was later determined to be fentanyl.
Shortly after ingesting the fentanyl, all four users—including Church—lost consciousness. Adams did not use the substance herself and waited about 45 minutes before alerting anyone about the overdoses. Instead of calling emergency services immediately, she contacted a friend.
“This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” according to information released by authorities. “The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.” The statement added: “Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations… In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.”
The investigation was conducted by Saline County Sheriff’s Office with prosecution led by Assistant United States Attorneys Edward Walker and Jordan Crews.
