by April Scheinoha
Reporter
A St. Hilaire man was sentenced Friday, Feb. 17 in Pennington County District Court for supplying the fentanyl mixture that led to his fiancée’s death Dec. 2, 2021.
Anthony Joseph Drury, 31, was sentenced for a felony charge of third degree murder – sell/give/distribute a Schedule 1 & 2 controlled substance. As part of a plea agreement, a felony charge of fourth degree sale of a controlled substance of a Schedule 1, 2 or 3 drug was dismissed.
Drury previously testified that he and Michaela Rose Constance Cooper pooled together their money for the fentanyl mixture that would eventually take her life.
For the murder charge, Drury was sentenced to 74 months in prison stayed for 10 years. As a condition of that sentence, he was ordered to serve 365 days in jail. Drury was given credit for 111 days served. He was ordered to report to jail by Friday, March 10 at 5 p.m. Work release and Sentence to Serve privileges were granted if he qualifies. He was ordered to serve supervised probation for 10 years. Drury was also ordered to undergo comprehensive and diagnostic assessments. He was ordered to not use or possess firearms or ammunition for his lifetime unless the court lifts that ban. Drury was ordered to supply a DNA sample. He was also ordered to pay $585 in fees and fines.
While announcing the sentence, Judge Tamara Yon noted that it was a downward dispositional departure. It was granted due to an agreement between the state and defense, the support of court services, Drury’s lack of criminal history, his full cooperation with law enforcement, and his particular amenability to probation.
Prior to being sentenced, Drury was given the opportunity to speak. He declined. However, his attorney, Bruce Rivers, spoke on his behalf. Rivers said the case has been difficult for Drury. “He’s absolutely devastated by the loss of his fiancée,” Rivers said.
Drury previously testified that he purchased the fentanyl from James Michael Morin and then picked up Cooper. The two of them consumed some of the fentanyl together on their way home. After returning home, Drury took another fentanyl pill and then napped. He said he awoke one-and-a-half hours later to find Cooper, 20, slumped over. Drury initially thought his fiancée was sleeping and then realized she had no pulse. He then began CPR.
According to the complaint, Drury told authorities that he had Narcan, but he didn’t know how to administer it. After law enforcement and EMTs arrived, CPR and two doses of Narcan were administered. The efforts to save her life were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Morin, 24, Thief River Falls, was sentenced in August 2022 for his role in the incident. He entered a Norgaard plea, testifying that he couldn’t recall some or all of the facts of the case since he was under the influence of a chemical at the time. Morin was sentenced to 110 months in prison for a felony charge of third degree murder. He was given credit for 263 days served.
After Cooper’s death, Drury told the authorities that he had obtained the drugs from Morin, whose home was later searched. Inside Morin’s home and on his person, law enforcement found 39 pills similar to the fentanyl-laced pills the couple possessed. In his initial statement, Morin denied selling pills to Drury. Days later, in a followup statement, he admitted selling pills to Drury. Both men admitted knowing the pills were laced with fentanyl.
Back at Drury and Cooper’s St. Hilaire home, law enforcement recovered half of a blue pill known to be laced with fentanyl as well as four oxycodone pills. They also confiscated tin foil with burn marks and a pen with its contents removed. Both of those items are consistent with drug usage.
Drury had recently proposed to Cooper. He said the couple had been sober for 10 days, but they relapsed that day. He said their drug of choice is usually opiates.
In a statement to Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force officers the following week, Drury said he purchased pills from Morin one to two times per week. He said he purchased two pills from Morin for $120 on Dec. 1, 2021. Neither he nor Cooper became sick after snorting the pills.
The following day, Drury purchased an additional five pills for $250 from Morin outside of Holiday. Of that amount, he and a friend contributed $100 each. Cooper contributed $60. The remaining $10 was gas money. At some point after the drug sale, he picked up Cooper. Two pills were dropped off for the friend, and Drury kept the remaining three pills. Upon returning home, the couple smoked a pill by heating it up on tinfoil.
Drury provided different information to law enforcement initially, saying he had purchased four pills from Morin for $200. He said Morin loaned him part of the money needed for the pills. At that time, Drury said he and Cooper used three pills with Cooper apparently consuming the fourth pill after Drury had fallen asleep. Half a pill had been found at the home.
Drury described the pills, which seemed to be similar to the ones found in Morin’s possession. When they arranged the purchase, Drury said he didn’t know what Morin would be providing.