DALLAS — A drug distributor who sold fentanyl-laced pills to a Carrollton middle schooler prior to her fatal overdose pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal drug crime.
Rafael Soliz Jr., 23, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
“My heart aches for the victim in this case – a promising young girl who’d barely entered her teens. The defendant not only sold her fentanyl but also taught her how to ingest it. In essence, he encouraged a mere child to snort a terrifyingly potent, highly addictive drug – and then urged her to cover for him with law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton in a statement. “The Northern District of Texas is pulling out all the stops to rid the streets of dealers and keep fentanyl out of the hands of our kids. Our community cannot endure much more of this.”
Plea papers state Soliz admitted to selling fentanyl to street-level dealers, as well as directly -- including to children.
“Anyone selling fentanyl to children will find themselves becoming a top priority for the Drug Enforcement Administration,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez in a statement. “The DEA will continue to focus our resources on stopping this deadly threat from reaching and causing more harm to our next generation.”
Officials said Soliz talked with both adults and minors interested in buying fake M30 pills containing fentanyl on Instagram. Soliz responded to a 13-year-old girl last November who asked him if she could buy "percs," which Soliz agreed to and brought the pills to her home. He then told her how to snort them.
After discovering she was a 13-year-old Dewitt Perry Middle School student, officials said Soliz was dismayed but agreed to continue selling to her as long as she would "keep it on the down low" and deny he sold to her if she was ever caught.
Soliz will now be sentenced, and faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
