30 year federal prison sentence for man convicted in Williston overdose death | Public Safety

In May 2017, Myers was arrested by the Northwest Narcotics Task Force and accused of selling fentanyl-laced heroin that led to multiple overdoses in Williston. One of the people who overdosed, 23-year-old Conor Volz, died.

Myers was arrested in Minot the day after the overdose while he was boarding a train bound for Chicago. He was originally charged in state court, but after he was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2017, those charges were dropped.

In a sentencing memorandum, Rick Volk, the assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case, wrote that a witness at trial testified that Myers kept two different kinds of heroin — one weaker and one stronger.

“Per (witness Shannon Fenster)’s testimony, the defendant indicated he would provide the stronger heroin product to those who were regular customers whom he believed could handle it,” Volk wrote. “Fenster also testified that the Defendant told him to be careful using this stronger product. From this testimony, this Court may reasonably infer the Defendant was aware the stronger heroin was a mixture of heroin and another substance, such as fentanyl or a fentanyl analogue. The customers of that product, including Conor Volz and Mishaw Kramer, believed they were acquiring heroin, not a mixture of heroin and a fentanyl analogue.” 

Volk also wrote that testimony established Myers had started selling heroin in Williston in late 2015 or early 2016.

He asked Hovland for a sentence of life in prison, the maximum sentence for distribution of a controlled substance and controlled substance analogue resulting in death.

Volk wrote that a life sentence was justified because of the seriousness of the crimes Myers was convicted of, as well as “the other conduct engaged in by the defendant, the strictly financial motivation behind the defendant’s actions, and the callousness of his concern for the safety of his customers and the public in general.”

Theodore Sandberg, Myers’ attorney, asked for a sentence of 20 years, the mandatory minimum for that charge.

In addition to the prison sentence and supervised release, Hovland ordered Myers to pay a $300 fine and to pay $11,450 in restitution to Volz’s family to cover funeral expenses.