A 22-year-old Austin man who admitted selling a fentanyl pill that prosecutors say killed a Leander resident has been ordered to spend 20 years in federal prison.
On June 24, a federal judge sentenced Keithrick Carter to 240 months after prosecutors tied him to blue "M30" fentanyl pills and marijuana. The victim, a 24-year-old man, was found dead in his Leander apartment on March 23, 2023. An autopsy listed his cause of death as fentanyl toxicity.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas, Carter was indicted on May 6, 2025, arrested on May 21, 2025, and pleaded guilty on Feb. 19, 2026. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman imposed the 20-year sentence on June 24. "Protecting Americans from the fentanyl crisis is a national priority," U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons said in the office's release. The announcement was also posted on X.
Investigators and evidence
Officials said the case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration's San Antonio Division, the Leander Police Department and the Austin Police Department. Prosecutors reported that laboratory testing of a pill recovered from the victim's bathroom, along with a review of cellphone messages, linked Carter to the fatal dose. Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Henneke handled the prosecution.
Federal penalties explained
Under federal law, there is a specific enhancement when drug distribution "results" in death. This death-resulting provision carries a statutory penalty of not less than 20 years and up to life in prison under 21 U.S.C. § 841. Prosecutors frequently rely on that enhancement in cases where lab testing and medical examiner findings connect a particular sale to a fatal overdose.
How this fits in locally
Authorities say the sentence is part of a broader crackdown on counterfeit fentanyl pills that can contain lethal amounts of the drug. It joins a series of high-profile fentanyl prosecutions in the Austin area and in Williamson County. For another recent fatal-overdose prosecution in the region, see Leander teen fentanyl murder.
Prosecutors and law enforcement officials said Carter's case reflects a wider effort to hold dealers criminally responsible when the drugs they sell prove deadly. Media inquiries for this case were directed to the U.S. Attorney's Office media contact listed in the release.
