A man from Dallas and a woman from Arizona were sentenced to federal prison for their alleged roles in the death of a Flower Mound girl.
The woman, 25-year-old Pamela Esquivias of Maricopa, Arizona, also known as Azalea, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced Friday to 262 months in federal prison.
Aaron Jay Perez, 29, of Dallas, also pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced Friday to 120 months in federal prison.
The two were charged and sentenced after their alleged roles in the death of a 16-year-old girl from Flower Mound who ingested counterfeit oxycodone laced with fentanyl in August 2023.
According to information released in court, a law enforcement investigation into the death of the girl identified Esquivias as a fentanyl source of supply, who distributed hundreds of thousands of blue M-30 fentanyl tablets from Arizona to multiple states.
Perez was revealed as the local distributor in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex who officials claim is responsible for trafficking fentanyl, marijuana and cocaine.
According to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas, the case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, which aims to eliminate criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.
“Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders,” said the Department of Justice. “In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.”
In the midst of a fentanyl crisis, a group from Flower Mound organized a Walk For Lives, bringing the community together to learn about the impacts of overdose and how it can be prevented.
Throughout the years, law enforcement across Denton County have arrested and charged individuals that have played parts in schemes to traffic and sell fentanyl in the county.
Denton County often recognizes North Texas Overdose Awareness Day in August to spread awareness about opioid abuse and other drug overdoses.
