An El Paso man has received a 15-year sentence for distributing fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills, a transaction that led to a fatal overdose. Adrian David Perez Jr., age 21, was sentenced in federal court after he sold the synthetic opioid to an individual who later died from acute fentanyl toxicity, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
On October 13, 2021, Perez sold the counterfeit M-30 pills, which the victim consumed, the consequences of which were not only immediate but irreversible. The El Paso County Medical Examiner’s office concluded that the cause of death was acute fentanyl toxicity, the potent synthetic opioid that has been the silent harbinger of death to many unsuspecting individuals seeking reprieve in the guise of lesser evils. In addition to his prison term, U.S. District Judge Leon Schydlower has mandated Perez to serve three years of supervised release and pay $3,800 in restitution.
Fentanyl, a drug with a potency 50 to 100 times that of morphine, has been responsible for an increasing number of overdose deaths across the United States. The rise in fentanyl-related fatalities is fueling a harsher stance by the judicial system against those found distributing the substance. Perez’s sentence is reflective of the wider trend in penalizing fentanyl dissemination with considerable severity.
"This sentence sends a strong message that our justice system will not tolerate the distribution of drugs that are killing Americans at an alarming rate," said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas, as per U.S. Department of Justice. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case that, involved a man, merely at the threshold of adulthood, whose actions entailed dire consequences. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Countryman led the prosecution.