An El Paso federal court has handed down sentences to two local women convicted in connection with the fentanyl poisoning death of a 19-year-old single mother. Kathy Lee Nicole Bradford, 32, who orchestrated the distribution of counterfeit M-30 pills laced with fentanyl, received a 14-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to distribution of a controlled substance causing death or serious bodily injury.

Meanwhile, Patricia Tafoya, 40, who admitted to the drug delivery was given a 21-month sentence; she also pled guilty to conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute and will enter a drug treatment program as part of her sentence, as documented in court filings.

According to a press announcement from the office of the U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas, the El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office concluded the victim died of acute fentanyl toxicity after consuming the pills provided by Bradford and Tafoya. The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation of the case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Countryman.