Columbia Man Sentenced To 10 Years For Distributing Fentanyl In Mid-Missouri

A Columbia man who pleaded guilty in June on one count of conspiring to distribute fentanyl and illegally possessing a firearm has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

The U.S. Attorney Western District of Missouri Office says 31-year-old Ryan Knudsen admitted that he would typically obtain hundreds of capsules containing fentanyl worth about $1,400 from a source in St. Louis before selling them to customers in Columbia.

At one point during the investigation in 2021, law enforcement tracked Knudsen when he traveled to St. Louis and on his return left a bag containing the fentanyl at a Kingdom City car cash.

Knudsen was also found with a 9-millimeter Glock on that same trip.

Boone County is identified as one of the top counties in Missouri for fatal overdose deaths with fentanyl blamed in a majority of those deaths.