Carrollton adults arrested for overdosing fentanyl on students

A nationwide battle against the synthetic opioid fentanyl has gripped North Texas.

The fentanyl-related deaths of three students at R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton are linked to a local couple now facing federal charges, police said.

Drug Enforcement Agency agents conducted surveillance and then raided a home in the 1800 block of Highland Drive on Friday. Agents arrested 21-year-old Luis Navarrete and 29-year-old Magali Mejia Cano, accusing them of dealing fentanyl outside a home located between Turner High School and DeWitt Perry High School.

According to the criminal case, the two sold fentanyl-laced Percocet and OxyContin to several teenage drug dealers, mostly Turner High School students. These dealers then sold counterfeit pills to classmates and kids at DeWitt Perry and Dan Long high schools.

Between September and February, nine students at these schools, aged between 13 and 17, overdosed. Three died. One 14-year-old girl survived a double overdose and was temporarily paralyzed.

“No matter what I read about fentanyl, I wouldn’t even try it,” said local resident Abel Hernandez. “Why? It seems stupid and dangerous, but I think kids do it, so it just surprised me that it came from such a close home, and I didn’t even know about it.”

Fentanyl is about 50 times stronger than heroin. A few grains can be lethal.

Lilia Astudillo told NBC 5 that her son, 14-year-old Jose Alberto Perez, was one of the three students who died. She said it was the end of January when she entered his bedroom and found that he was not responding.

“I didn't want to believe it, I thought he was playing with me, I thought it was one of his jokes, but no, it was true,” she said.

Special Agent Eduardo Chavez works for the Dallas DEA. He said the DEA knew that fentanyl was on the rise in North Texas, and agents were actively working to get the incredibly deadly drug off the streets.

“Two milligrams is considered a lethal dose. Two milligrams can fit on the tip of a pencil,” Chavez said. “You can’t experiment with these pills.”

Chavez said that six out of every ten pills seized at DFW contained potentially lethal doses of fentanyl. The agency is also battling the misconception that medicines in pill form are not as harmful. He said that one attempt is enough to change a life forever.

“Pills, I think, are generally very disarming. You wean off liquid medicines and liquid vitamins when you might be eight or nine years old and your parents teach you how to take vitamins or antibiotics,” he said. “So, seeing a pill, maybe none of us is the same as pulling out a shard of meth. So I think for all these reasons, there is a misconception about the ability of this to harm you.”

Interim Superintendent of ISD Carrollton-Farmers Branch Brian Mersh released a statement saying: “We must come together as a community to address this issue that is putting our children at risk. We strongly encourage adults to engage in open conversations with children about the risks of drugs, especially fentanyl.”

The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas called the couple’s actions “despicable.” Both appeared in federal court on Monday. If convicted, each of the suspects faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Another hearing is scheduled for Friday.

Content Source

Dallas Press News – Latest News:
Dallas Local News || Fort Worth Local News | Texas State News || Crime and Safety News || National news || Business News || Health News

Related Articles

Back to top button