The Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that a Greybull man must continue serving 15 to 20 years in prison for selling deadly fentanyl-laced pills to a Cody resident in 2023.

Anthony M. Fuentes, 39, received the sentence from Park County District Court Judge Bill Simpson in 2024 after entering a form of guilty plea to a felony count of involuntary manslaughter.

The conviction relates to Fuentes recklessly causing the death of 25-year-old Jordan Jackson by selling him two counterfeit oxycodone pills in January 2023; Jackson died of a drug overdose at his Cody home after ingesting a part of one pill, which turned out to contain fentanyl.

Fuentes’ case marked the first time a Wyoming resident was charged and convicted of manslaughter in connection with a drug
overdose, Big Horn County Prosecuting Attorney Marcia Bean told Cowboy State Daily.

However, after receiving the stiff prison sentence from Simpson — one that reportedly caught both Fuentes and his defense attorney off-guard — Fuentes sought to withdraw his plea. When Simpson denied that request last year, Fuentes appealed to the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Through his appellate attorneys with the Office of the State Public Defender, Fuentes argued his original, privately retained lawyer had provided ineffective assistance. Fuentes contended his prior counsel had failed to thoroughly research whether his actions actually qualified as manslaughter, with Senior Assistant Public Defender Michael Bennett arguing the charge didn’t fit the conduct.

In his appeal, Fuentes argued his original counsel should have done more to challenge the charge and didn’t fully advise him of all his options before he entered an Alford plea. That’s a type of guilty plea in which the defendant continues to maintain his innocence.

Fuentes indicated his decision to plead guilty stemmed from financial constraints. According to court testimony, Fuentes’ family had paid Cowboy Country Law $15,000 for his defense, but going to trial would have cost additional funds that the family didn’t have.

Fuentes’ former attorney, Christina Cherni, testified at a June 2025 hearing that she viewed her role as basically being limited to trying to negotiate the best possible plea deal with prosecutors.

The Park County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office had offered to stipulate a nine- to 10-year sentence, Fuentes testified, but he rejected that deal; Fuentes said that at that point in the case, he thought he might instead go to trial.

Cherni said she was effective with what she was tasked with doing, but “looking back, there should have been a lot of different choices made.” She left Cowboy Country Law shortly after Fuentes’ sentencing, though she indicated that was mostly due to other factors.

In his ruling last year, Judge Simpson said he didn’t think Fuentes’ fee agreement with Cowboy Country Law had hindered Cherni’s representation. Simpson added that he thought Cherni “did an excellent job in arguing and advocating on behalf of Mr. Fuentes” at his 2024 sentencing as she sought a more lenient punishment.

The justices of the Wyoming Supreme Court ultimately came to a similar conclusion last week, saying they were “not persuaded” that financial constraints motivated Fuentes to plead guilty. Writing for a unanimous court, Justice Kari Jo Gray said the record showed Fuentes was advised multiple times that he could apply for a court-appointed attorney if finances became an issue.

The high court also concluded that there was “no merit” to Fuentes’ contention that Cherni was ineffective.

State records say that Fuentes — who also received an overlapping three- to five-year sentence in Big Horn County on related drug charges — is currently set to become eligible for parole in early 2033.

At last year’s hearing before Simpson, Fuentes said he respected the sentence imposed and all the decisions made by the judge.

“What the court gave me is what the court gave me,” he said, “and I accepted it as so.”