FORT WORTH, Texas — A Tarrant County couple tied to at least two drug overdose deaths were sentenced to a combined 51 years in prison, federal officials said.
Edward Taylor, 42, and Tierrah "TT" Andrews, 29, admitted to trafficking fentanyl pills and cocaine out of a motel room and an apartment in Fort Worth's Las Vegas Trail neighborhood, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas states.
Taylor and Andrews were charged in March and pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.
On Oct. 18, a U.S. District judge sentenced Taylor to 27 years and Andrews to 24 years in federal prison, according to the release.
“These drug traffickers callously disregarded the risks of the drugs they were selling, and as a result, two people died,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton.
Last November, a man identified by the initials T.M. in the news release took a rideshare to a Fort Worth motel. Surveillance video shows him briefly entering a room occupied by Taylor.
The man was found dead in his bedroom just hours after leaving the motel. T.M.'s mother found his body next to a crushed M-30 pill containing fentanyl. Four additional M-30 pills were found in his room. Taylor later admitted to selling T.M. drugs, according to the release.
On Jan. 26, 2024, a 21-year-old man, identified as K.S. in the news release, texted Andrews asking for crack cocaine and fentanyl pills. K.S. visited Andrews at her Fort Worth apartment and paid her $77 via CashApp. Later that day, his sister found his body, where blue M-30 pills containing fentanyl, white powder, and a glass pipe were later found, officials said. Andrews later confessed to selling K.S. drugs, the release states.
Police received a tip in January from a source who told them he’d purchased fentanyl and crack cocaine from a couple in Fort Worth. He gave authorities Taylor’s CashApp account and Andrews’ phone number, the release states. Another source also confirmed purchasing cocaine and pills from the pair over several months.
Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Andrews’ apartment on Jan. 27. They found 6.6 grams of methamphetamine, 2.8 grams of cocaine, 270 blue M-30 pills and a ledger containing a record of drug transactions, according to the release.
They also found 50 rounds of 9mm ammunition and a loaded “ghost gun” on Andrews. She told the officers she dealt drugs provided by Taylor and carried the pistol "so no one does anything to me," officials said.
On Feb. 29, an undercover agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives paid Andrews $275 for around 6.28 grams of blue M-30 pills containing fentanyl. Andrews bagged up the pills inside her apartment, according to the release, and the undercover agent saw Taylor ask her about the transaction. The deal was completed outside in the agent’s vehicle.
A week later Andrews and Taylor were arrested and were found with additional blue M-30 pills and firearms, according to the release.
When confronted with photos of the victims, Taylor admitted to selling to T.M. and Andrews admitted to selling to K.S. Autopsies later confirmed both men suffered fatal drug overdoses, officials said.
“Although today’s sentencings will provide little solace to the families of those lost to the fentanyl scourge, it is a promising triumph in law enforcement's fight against its vile spread,” stated ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II.
