Fentanyl dealer arrested, accused of advertising to Carrollton kids, authorities say

A Carrollton drug dealer accused of capitalizing on the arrest of two prominent fentanyl traffickers in order to entice young buyers has been charged with a federal drug crime, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

Donovan Jude Andrews, 20, was arrested in Carrollton on Wednesday. He’s charged via criminal complaint with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford on Friday morning and was ordered detained pending trial.

According to court documents, in early February, Andrews commented on an Instagram post announcing the arrests of Luis Navarrete and Magaly Cano, the pair of traffickers who federal authorities say are tied to at least 10 overdoses of students in the Carrollton Farmers Branch School District.

Posting under the handle “deegetbandz_3x,” Andrews wrote that Navarrete and Cano “took all the ATTENTION” from law enforcement and divulged that he was selling M30 pills for $10 apiece, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Andrews later shared an Instagram post announcing the overdose deaths of three children tied to Navarrete and Cano with the caption “(expletive) em come get em,” according to the release. Shortly afterward, a 14-year-old girl suffering from an apparent fentanyl overdose told police that she bought five M30 pills through Andrews’ Instagram account. She said she paid via a cash app and the dealer dropped the pills in her mailbox. Home surveillance video confirmed the delivery, federal authorities said.

Law enforcement officers watched Andrews’ home and saw him conduct hand-to-hand transactions on the street, according to the release. They also found an 18-year-old student at Hebron High School who said she bought pills from a man named “Donovan” who used the “deegetbandz_3x” Instagram handle.

In early March, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on a Toyota Camry linked to Andrews, the release said. Andrews, who had a baggie of pills stashed inside in his sock, sat in the passenger seat next to a 17-year-old driver, authorities said. The 17-year-old, also a student at Hebron High, told law enforcement that he drove Andrews around in return for fentanyl pills.

According to the complaint, law enforcement concluded that Andrews dealt fentanyl to minors knowing fully well that counterfeit M30 pills like the ones he was distributing were responsible for multiple overdoses and deaths.

“Most of us recoiled in horror when we heard that nine Carrollton children suffered 10 fentanyl overdoses in the span of just six months. Mr. Andrews, on the other hand, allegedly seized on the situation as a marketing opportunity. Knowing full well that fentanyl was killing our kids, he allegedly attempted to convert survivors into customers,” Simonton said. “The Justice Department works tirelessly to investigate and prosecute fentanyl traffickers. But when we arrest one dealer, another inevitably pops up to take his place. We need the community’s help to educate our kids about the danger of fentanyl. One pill — or even half or a quarter of one pill — can kill.”

If convicted, Andrews faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division and the Carrollton Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rick Calvert and Phelesa Guy are prosecuting the case.

Fentanyl-laced pills often look similar to legitimate prescription pills like Oxycontin or Percocet but can pose significantly more danger, according to the Justice Department. On the street, these pills are often referred to as “M30s” (a reference to the markings on some of the pills), “blues,” “perks,” “yerks,” “china girls” or “TNT.” DEA research shows that six out of 10 pills laced with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose.

For resources, visit https://www.dea.gov/onepill.