DALLAS — Following the death of a 15-year-old Carrollton girl from a fentanyl overdose last week, the distributors who reportedly gave her the drug have now been federally charged.
Lizbeth Prieto, 19, and Cristian Lopez, 24, were charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, the U.S. Attorney's Office Northern District of Texas said in a news release.
The girl who died is the fourth child to die from fentanyl in the area since September 2022.
“Four young lives, lost in an instant. Four families, heartbroken,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton in a statement.
“Fentanyl continues to creep its insidious way through the teenage population, and no kid is immune. The Justice Department will continue to take traffickers off the streets. But our efforts alone are not enough. As soon as one trafficker is put behind bars, another rises up to take his place. Parents, teachers, and friends: Please, educate your kids on the dangers of counterfeit pills. Unless prescribed by a doctor, no pill is safe. Even tablets that appear to be prescription painkillers or other types of medications may well be laced with a deadly dose of fentanyl.”
The criminal complaint against the two states that Lopez supplied pills to Prieto, who then sold them to the victim, who was a student at Newman Smith High School in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD.
“This is well beyond a ‘Carrollton’ problem. This is a you and me problem as it affects us all. This is a problem that we must join all facets of our community to educate, treat, prevent, and enforce the law to help those struggling and hold responsible those who deal drugs to the fullest extent of the law,” Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of DEA Dallas, said in a statement.
“Just one pill can change so many lives forever. We will never stop seeking justice.”
Family members called 911 on June 13 when they found the girl unresponsive and face down on her bed, officials said. She was taken to a hospital where she was soon pronounced dead.
After searching the girl's bedroom and cellphone, officials say they found 10 counterfeit Percocet pills, which later tested positive for fentanyl. They also found messages between the girl and Prieto on Instagram less than 24 hours before her death.
Prieto reportedly offered to sell the girl 13 fentanyl pills for $100 in the messages, officials said.
“I can’t tell you why a child would gamble with their life other than they don’t understand. They don’t quite grasp how deadly and dangerous this is," Carrollton Police Chief Roberto Arredondo said in a press conference Friday. "These opioids are very addictive."
An undercover officer reached out to Prieto asking to purchase the pills, officials said, and during a transaction the next day, law enforcement pulled up and arrested Prieto, who was in Lopez's car.
Lopez reportedly admitted to supplying to Prieto, and Prieto reportedly admitted Lopez was her supplier, as well as confessing to selling the girl a dozen fentanyl pills, officials said.
"We went up the chain and we were able to get two drug dealers out through this investigation," Arredondo said.
Earlier this year, local and federal law enforcement arrested three people for selling fentanyl which led to nine overdoses in six months. Police said since the investigation began they've arrested 23 dealers and investigated 12 overdoses, including the four children who died.
Arredondo said Friday it's still unclear if Prieto and Lopez have connections to the others arrested.
“That’s something that we’re working with our federal partners to try to ascertain and determine what the connections are," he said.
Both charged could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Police are asking for parents help to end the surge of overdoses.
“We’re dependent on our parents to take an active role in their child’s life and inspect their phones, look through their rooms," Arredondo said. “We’re extremely concerned. That’s why we’re working so hard to try to rid our community of this poison.”