Slidell Woman Sentenced After Sneaking Fentanyl Into Jail, Causing Inmate’s Death

SLIDELL, La. (KPEL News) — An attempted drug smuggling turned into a tragic case in St. Tammany Parish, and a Slidell woman is now being sentenced to 40 years in prison.

The woman smuggled fentanyl into a jail, leading to the overdose death of another inmate.

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According to Fox 8 News, 40-year-old Sarah Blackmon pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the death of her 25-year-old cellmate, Theresa Zar. Blackmon had originally been charged with second-degree murder but accepted a plea deal that reduced the charge — and avoided the possibility of a life sentence.

The events unfolded in November 2023 when, after being moved into the same cell as Zar at the Slidell jail, Blackmon was seen on surveillance video removing a concealed item from her body and passing it to Zar. That item turned out to be fentanyl.

Despite having undergone a search before being placed in the jail, Blackmon later admitted that she had hidden the narcotics so deeply in a body cavity that they escaped detection. Within minutes of receiving the drugs, Zar overdosed. Blackmon, seeing Zar collapse and become unresponsive, reportedly covered her with a blanket rather than seek help.

Zar was later found dead during a routine morning check by a corrections officer.

Judge Alan Black, overseeing the case in Covington, handed down the maximum sentence allowed for manslaughter under Louisiana law: 40 years behind bars.

The Opioid Epidemic in Louisiana

Louisiana has been especially hard-hit by the opioid epidemic, and local authorities have been stepping up enforcement efforts at jails and prisons to crack down on the trafficking of contraband narcotics.

According to the Louisiana Department of Health, 1,420 people died in Louisiana in 2022 "as a result of opioids, with 1,216 of those as a direct result of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl."\

In this instance, the tragedy unfolded despite search protocols, showing just how difficult it can be to stop drugs from entering even supposedly secure facilities — and how devastating the consequences can be when those drugs get through.