KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WOKI) — Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen announced that a Knox County woman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after bringing fentanyl into a hospital, resulting in overdoses involving herself, her husband, and her teenage daughter.
Judge Scott Green ordered 47-year-old Stacy Rena Boles to serve 10 years in prison without the possibility of parole following her convictions for Aggravated Child Abuse and Aggravated Child Neglect.
According to prosecutors, the case stemmed from an incident on April 26, 2022, at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
During a three-day trial in November, Assistant District Attorneys Franklin Ammons and Heather Ens told jurors that Dustin Boles was a patient at UT Medical Center when his wife, Stacy Boles, and their 16-year-old daughter came to visit.
Prosecutors said Stacy Boles brought a bag of fentanyl into the hospital with the intention of sharing the drug with her husband. At some point during the visit, the couple’s teenage daughter also gained access to and used the fentanyl.
Hospital staff later discovered the teenager overdosing in the hospital room and immediately initiated a Code Blue emergency response.
Investigators said Dustin Boles and Stacy Boles also overdosed in the same room.
All three received doses of naloxone and were revived. However, prosecutors said the overdose caused devastating and permanent injuries to the teenager, who is now disabled as a result.
“While we have made progress reducing the number of overdose deaths in our community, fentanyl remains the most dangerous drug on our streets,” District Attorney Allen said. “Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues have been the top drug found in overdose death cases in Knox County since 2016.”
Because the victim was a minor, Boles faced charges of aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect, Class B felonies under Tennessee law. Those offenses carry prison sentences ranging from eight to twelve years and do not allow for parole.
Authorities also charged Dustin Boles in connection with the case. However, prosecutors said he died while the case was pending and was never brought to trial.
The prosecution team included Assistant District Attorneys Franklin Ammons and Heather Ens, with support from Assistant Victim Witness Coordinator Kara Sowards and Legal Secretary Leah Graves.
District Attorney Allen said the case serves as another reminder of the life-altering consequences fentanyl continues to have on individuals and families throughout Knox County and East Tennessee.
