Two more suspects linked to North Texas teen fentanyl overdose deaths federally charged

Courtesy: McClatchy Co.

Two men suspected of supplying fentanyl to North Texas teens have been arrested and federally charged, officials said.

Roberta Alexander Gaitan, 20, and Rafael Soliz Jr., 22, are both charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and Gaitan is charged with distribution of a controlled substance to a minor, the United States Department of Justice said in a press release Friday.

Gaitan and Soliz allegedly conspired with five other people to traffic counterfeit opioid pills laced with fentanyl to young teens, according to court records.

Those five suspects, Jason Xavier Villanueva, Donovan Jude Andrews, Stephan Paul Brinson, Magaly Mejia Cano and Luis Eduardo Navarrete, were previously charged.

Members of the conspiracy are accused of being tied to at least 12 juvenile drug overdoses in Carrollton and Flower Mound, according to the release. Three of the overdoses proved fatal.

The drugs were often advertised over social media, officials said. If convicted, Gaitan and Soliz could each spend up to 20 years in federal prison.

Pills laced with fentanyl look similar to prescription pills like Oxycontin or Percocet, but officials warn that six out of 10 fentanyl-laced pills contains a potentially lethal dose and even one pill could be fatal. The pills are often referred to on the streets with slang terms such as “blues,” “perks” or “TNT.”

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