18-year-old pleads guilty to distributing fentanyl, faces up to 40 years in prison
CARROLLTON (CBSNewsTexas.com) – A man connected to the string of fentanyl poisonings in Carrollton has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl.
Julio Gonzales Jr., 18, admitted to receiving and selling about 120,000 counterfeit M30 pills containing fentanyl to multiple customers and at least one juvenile M30 dealer.
He sold M30 pills individually in addition to selling customers "K Packs," which consisted of 1,000 pills at a time. He could face up to 40 years in prison.
Court documents say that in February, a 16-year-old dealer who delivered the fentanyl pills that killed a 14-year-old girl in December 2022 allegedly identified Gonzales, whom he called "J-Money," as his supplier.
According to text messages, the 16-year-old dealer discussed "J-Money" with Luis Eduardo Navarrete, one of the first dealers charged in the fentanyl scheme. Gonzales is the eighth person charged in the case.
During a search of Gonzales' residence, DEA agents found thousands of fentanyl-laced M30 pills in the microwave, a partial kilogram of cocaine in a plastic food storage container, bulk U.S. currency hidden in the closet, and numerous firearms, including a pistol equipped with an illegal Glock switch, throughout the home.
Jason Xavier Villanueva, Magaly Cano, Robert Alexander Gaitan, Rafael Soliz, Jr., Adrian Martinez-Leon, Donovan Jude Andrews and Stephen Paul Brinson pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl earlier this year. Navarrete has been charged but not yet convicted.
