Colin
According to a recent police memo obtained by The Post Millennial, there have been many cases of fentanyl distribution sent from the Salt Lake Police Department to Gill for prosecution. “Recently we have received many cases involving the distribution of fentanyl. After sending several of these cases to the DA’s Office for screening the DA has returned with the charge of possession,” the memo stated.
Memo distributed to Salt Lake City PD
The email, sent out to the Salt Lake police from a member of the Special Investigations Squad, instructed police at the department that charging for distribution based on number alone “is not going to get the distribution charge.” The memo informed the officers that Gill’s office determined that the number of pills a drug user has in their possession can get “very high.”
“The DA’s Office also informed me that they typically won’t charge distribution of fentanyl based on the number of pills alone unless the amount exceeds 200,” the memo said. A source close to the department told TPM that Gill is essentially “not prosecuting fentanyl distribution unless it’s over 200 pills which is absolutely insane.”
The best evidence for distribution charge of fentanyl, the memo stated, is a confession made after the suspect is read their Miranda rights. Other evidence that police have to use to get distribution charges include “several baggies of pills parsed out in equal amounts, empty baggies (usually clean), scales, large amount of money and things of that nature.” Having used empty baggies, the memo writes, only suggests someone is a user.
Other reporting from southern Utah suggests that the 200 benchmark is too high a number. According to the Washington Post, when Utah Drug Enforcement Administration agent Brady Wilson talked to reporters in 2022 about the surge in fentanyl dealing in southern Utah, he said that in the 2010s, most St. George fentanyl busts were local cases. Drug dealers would go to a cartel outpost in Las Vegas to pick up “an ounce or two, or 100 pills, maybe 200 pills” of the opioid.
In addition, other states, such as Montana, signed a bill into law last year in order to crack down on fentanyl, setting a standard for distribution charges at half the number set by Gill’s office.
HB 791 reads, “A person convicted of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs that involves distribution of fentanyl, carfentanil, sufentanil, alfentanil, or a fentanyl derivative, and who possessed or distributed a mixture containing one or more of these substances in a combined amount greater than 100 pills or a combined weight greater than 10 grams in a form such as a powder, solid, or liquid, inclusive of any additives or cutting agents, shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term of not less than 2 years or more than 40 years or may be fined not more than $50,000, or both or more than 40 years or may be fined not more than $50,000, or both.
One Salt Lake City officer who has dealt with drug crimes in Utah told TPM that Gill “is very soft on drug crimes and doesn’t like to go forward with them very often,” adding that with “crimes that have victims on them, he kind of picks and chooses what he’s going to file on.”
According to multiple police sources in Utah, he has been known for soft sentences, often allowing violent criminals to go back out on the street, who later commit other violent crimes. However, when it comes to prosecuting police officers involved in a shooting or using force with a suspect, Gill will often attempt to throw the book at them and leave them out to dry pending a prosecution.
One of the latest examples was officer Nick Pierce, where in April 2020, he ordered a K9 unit to bite a suspect who was not following orders. The suspect’s daughters had called the police on him because of a domestic dispute. Gill charged the officer with aggravated assault, but the prosecution of the case was dragged out, running the clock for nearly four years, per the Salt Lake Tribune. This occurred all the while keeping Pierce out of the job, stripping the Salt Lake police of a K9 unit.
In court, the jury decided quickly in 2024, acquitting Pierce of the aggravated assault charges, with defense attorney Nathan Evershed saying that it was a politically motivated trial. He added that Gill and the DA’s office in the case had an “anxious desire to charge cops.” Gill has brought several other charges against Utah officers; however, the other cases have never met the burden of proof to make it to a jury trial.
Additionally, Gill is also one of the 126 the prosecutors listed in the recent Media Research Center “Law and Disorder” report on prosecutors connected to Democrat megadonor George Soros. After reviewing 7,785 pages of documents relating to communications with Soros, Gill along with the others was found to be connected Soros.
In response to TPM’s inquiry, Gill said, “We understand what you were given was an email sent out by a detective, not an authorized memo. In regard to the question about the number of pills required just to be a fentanyl user but not a distributor, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office does not have a policy regarding the number of pills required to file a charge of distribution. This office has charged a defendant with distribution when that defendant had significantly fewer than 200 fentanyl pills.”
He added, “The decision to charge an individual depends on whether an investigation has gathered sufficient evidence to prove that the elements of a specific law have been violated. Each law outlines specific criteria, or elements, that must be satisfied to establish a violation. If the evidence collected during the investigation meets these elements, then charges can be filed regardless of the amount.”
When asked about how many cases of fentanyl distribution charges Gill’s office has done in the last year, the DA declined to comment and referred TPM to make a public records request.
A source close to the department told TPM that Gill is essentially “not prosecuting fentanyl distribution unless it’s over 200 pills which is absolutely insane.”
