DALLAS — A man who had more than 2,000 fentanyl-laced pills at a North Texas mall has been sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison, officials announced.
Jesus Alexander Perez Fuentes, 27, pleaded guilty in October on a charge of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Dallas.
Fuentes this week received a sentenced of 145 months, which is 12 years and one month.
Investigators in March 2022 received a tip that Fuentes would be leaving the Galleria Mall in North Dallas with more than a thousand fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills that were labeled "M/30."
Investigators on March 30, 2022 saw Fuentes leave the mall with an unknown woman and get in Fuentes' pickup truck. Troopers then followed Fuentes along Interstate 635 and pulled him over on traffic violations.
In Fuentes' truck, the troopers found a loaded Glock handgun and a backpack that contained 2,072 fentanyl-laced pills, officials said. Authorities also found more than $13,000 in cash in the backpack, and Fuentes said the money was "proceeds from drug trafficking," according to the release.
The Drug Enforcement Administration's High Intensity Drug Task Force III investigated the case, along with the Dallas Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Law enforcement and state leaders have brought a heightened focus on fentanyl in recent months. From September to February, nine Carrollton students overdosed on the drug, including three who died, a case that has resulted in three arrests.
During a news conference in Austin at his One Pill Kills Summit, Gov. Greg Abbott unveiled a new $10 million multimedia awareness initiative through the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to educate Texans about the drug.
The governor also announced his plan to distribute Narcan to all 254 Texas counties through the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM).
The governor’s office said TDEM will soon distribute the first 20,000 units to sheriff's offices across the state. Each of Texas’ sheriff’s offices will be eligible to receive a portion of this first allotment based on county population and size, the governor said.