Man Admits Selling Fatal Dose of Fentanyl

ST. LOUIS - A St. Louis man pleaded guilty Friday and admitted selling the fentanyl that killed a 52-year-old in 2023.

Sylvester Clay, 50, admitted that on Dec. 8, 2023, he sold fentanyl to the victim on the parking lot of a gas station on the St. Louis - St. Louis County line. The victim's friend had picked him up from a hospital in Springfield, Missouri earlier that day, and the victim asked the friend to take him to St. Louis to get something for the pain he was having. The drug transaction was captured on video. After leaving the station, the victim consumed some of the fentanyl, said it was a hard hit and then passed out. His friend drove the victim to the hospital in Hermann, Missouri. The victim was found dead in the car. He was killed by a lethal dose of both fentanyl and oxycodone, but the fentanyl alone was enough to kill him, his plea agreement says.

On Jan. 19, 2024, investigators interviewed Clay, who admitted selling the victim drugs and identified himself in photos taken from the gas station surveillance video.

Clay pleaded guilty to one felony count of distribution of a controlled substance. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20, 2025. Both sides have agreed to recommend 13 years in prison.

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerome McDonald is prosecuting the case.