St. Paul Man Helped Hide Pounds Of Fentanyl In Stuffed Animals: Plea

ST. PAUL, MN — A Twin Cities man pleaded guilty to his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that transported fentanyl to the metro hidden inside stuffed animals, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger announced.

On Tuesday, Cornell Montez Chandler, Jr., 25, of St. Paul appeared in U.S. District Court before Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled. Chandler was the first to be convicted of the six men charged in this case.

Between August 2022 and December 2023, Chandler and others conspired with each other to distribute fentanyl pills throughout the Twin Cities, authorities said.

As part of the conspiracy, Chandler flew from the Twin Cities to Phoenix to buy fentanyl from suppliers and ship it through the U.S. Postal Service to the Twin Cities for distribution, according to investigators.

Chandler and his co-conspirators placed fentanyl pills in bags that were then hidden inside stuffed animals and disguised as birthday presents, prosecutors said.

The conspirators lined the interiors of the packages with dog treats in an attempt to prevent drug-sniffing dogs from alerting them, according to authorities.

In January and February 2023, Minnesota law enforcement seized six parcels containing more than 66 pounds of fentanyl pills that had been shipped from Phoenix and were bound for distribution by the conspiracy in the Twin Cities, investigators said.

"We continue to see the devastating impacts of fentanyl in our communities," Washington County Sheriff Dan Starry said in January when charges were filed in this case. "With this seizure, we know that hundreds, if not thousands of lives have been saved."

Chandler's co-defendants include Robiel Lee Williams, 23, Quijuan Hosea Bankhead, 30, Stardasha Christina Davenport-Mounger, 24, Fo’Tre Devine White, 26, and Shardai Rayshell Allen, 24.