Tennessee man admits fentanyl distribution that led to death of Great Falls man

GREAT FALLS — A Tennessee man accused of mailing fentanyl pills to a Great Falls couple that led to the overdose death of the husband admitted to a trafficking crime today, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

The defendant, Malice Clark, Jr., aka Greg Clark, aka “Greed”, 57, of Memphis, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Clark faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and at least three years of supervised release.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Oct. 17. Clark was detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that from at least February 2021 to April 2022, Clark repeatedly mailed small quantities of fentanyl from his home in Tennessee to the victim, John Doe, and his wife in Great Falls. Clark and Doe were friends and Doe would send Clark money in exchange for user amounts of fentanyl. Doe usually sent the money to Clark through a mobile cash transfer app, and Clark would send Doe a receipt and U.S. Postal Service tracking number for the package that contained fentanyl. On April 5, 2022, Doe and his wife received a package of fentanyl in the mail from Clark. That evening, both Doe and his wife took some of the fentanyl. At about 2:20 a.m. on April 6, 2022, Doe’s wife called 911 and reported that Doe had overdosed. Doe was found unresponsive and pronounced dead. An autopsy confirmed that Doe’s death was caused by acute fentanyl intoxication. Law enforcement collected pills that were determined to be fentanyl from Doe’s home, Doe’s wife admitted they had obtained the pills from Clark through the mail.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey K. Starnes is prosecuting the case. The Great Falls Police Department, Memphis (Tennessee) Police Department, FBI, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration and Montana Medical Examiner Office conducted the investigation.

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