Man pleads guilty in death of local teen
Strait was accused of providing fatal fentanyl dose, will be sentenced in Jan.
The man accused of selling a lethal dose of fentanyl to a Loveland teenager last year has entered a guilty plea and will be sentenced in early 2024.
Samuel Strait, 31, appeared before 8th Judicial District Court Judge Daniel Mcdonald Monday afternoon where he pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, a class 1 drug felony. However,
Troy Krenning, Strait’s attorney, said he is entering the guilty plea on the theory of complicity, acknowledging that there would be sufficient evidence where Strait could be found guilty at trial but maintaining their stance that he did not directly provide the drugs to the Loveland teen.
Mcdonald said while the charge could carry eight to 32 years in the Department of Corrections, the sentence will be open and would have a cap of 25 years if prison is chosen.
Strait also pleaded guilty to second-degree aggravated motor vehicle theft, a class 6 felony, in a different case and admitted he was not compliant with probation in a third, separate case. The sentences in these two other cases will run concurrent to the distribution charge at sentencing.
Mcdonald scheduled Strait to return to court at 1 p.m. Jan. 25 for a two-hour sentencing hearing.
Strait is accused of providing fentanyl to a 15-year-old Loveland boy, who was found unconscious and not breathing on his bed at a home in the 1300 block of North Washington Avenue. First responders provided life-saving efforts and the teen was transported to Mckee Medical Center before being flown to Children’s Hospital in Aurora where he was later pronounced dead, according to Strait’s arrest affidavit.
That affidavit alleges that during the investigation the Loveland Police Department determined that the teenager had been frequently corresponding with Strait about pills or money; this included the victim sending pictures of three blue pills to Strait the day before he was discovered dead.
Officers eventually spoke with Strait and searched his tent in an area of multiple “transient tents” just east of Fairgrounds Park but
west of Lincoln Avenue — finding a number of drugrelated items including foil with residue, smoking devices, needles, white pills, white powder, pill bottles containing prescription drugs and a phone, according to the affidavit.
Ultimately, he was arrested Dec. 29 following an alleged shoplifting and vehicle theft incident in the Promenade Shops at Centerra.