Both pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.
DALLAS — Two Dallas residents were sentenced to more than 15 years in prison last week for their roles in selling more than $600,000 worth of fentanyl, officials said.
According to the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, 22-year-old Christle Ruiz and 29-year-old Ricardo Flores pleaded guilty in October last year to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. They were each sentenced to 188 months in prison on Thursday by U.S. District Judge Karen Gren Scholer.
“This sentence sends a clear message that those who profit from poisoning our communities with fentanyl will be held accountable,” said Eduardo A. Chavez, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Dallas, in a statement. “Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, has caused thousands of overdose deaths and devastated communities across the nation. The investigation and sentence handed down in this case reflects an unwavering resolve by law enforcement to protect public safety and pursue justice for the victims of the opioid epidemic.”
Court documents show Flores and Ruiz had been living together and selling fentanyl from a Dallas home on Ezekiel Avenue. Flores delivered 2,000 fentanyl pills over February and March 2023 for $4,000, and Ruiz received a shipment of about 50,000 fentanyl pills in April 2023 she and Flores had planned to sell. That same day, Ruiz had tried to flush many pills down the toilet as police executed a search warrant at their home.
Agents also testified that Ruiz had received about 10,000 fentanyl pills a few weeks before the execution of the warrant she had advertised for sale on social media.
“As we pointed out to the Court during the defendants’ sentencing hearings, tens of thousands of tragic overdose deaths occur each year due to fentanyl, and those who distribute it know exactly what they are doing,” said Acting United States Attorney Nancy Larson in a statement. “The staggering amount of fentanyl in this case would have caused far-reaching devastation to our families and community, but for the tremendous efforts of our law enforcement partners in apprehending these defendants and keeping this deadly poison off the streets. We are resolved to relentlessly pursue these offenders and seek the lengthy prison sentences they deserve.”