Career criminal sentenced for running fentanyl ring at now-demolished Dallas motel
DALLAS - A 54-year-old Dallas man described by federal prosecutors as a career criminal who ran a rampant drug distribution ring out of a blighted motel near Dallas Love Field has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, authorities announced Thursday.
Fentanyl ring dismantled
Earnest Ray Miller, also known as "Q," was sentenced July 24 by U.S. District Judge Karen Gren Scholer to 300 months in prison on drug and firearm charges.
Federal authorities said Miller, a multi-convicted felon, operated his drug trafficking network out of multiple rooms at the former Cole Manor Motel, located at 7002 Harry Hines Blvd. The motel, long regarded by local officials as a notorious hub for violent crime, drug dealing, and prostitution, was demolished on June 17 following the federal investigation and a criminal nuisance lawsuit filed by the City of Dallas.
What they're saying:
"This defendant contributed to the fentanyl crisis by running a distribution network primarily out of the Cole Manor Hotel," Ryan Raybould, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said in a statement. "Let this 25-year sentence serve notice to anyone who thinks they can profit from selling this poison to Texans on my watch."
According to court filings, the Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating illegal activity at the motel in December 2024. Investigators found that Miller used several rooms to process, package, and sell fentanyl, methamphetamine, marijuana, and other controlled substances to dozens of daily buyers, going so far as to post handwritten "rules" inside rooms for customers to follow.
On Feb. 19, 2025, federal and local law enforcement executed search warrants across several rooms at the property. Inside a room controlled by Miller, agents seized distribution-level quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine, digital scales, packaging material, multiple firearms, and $19,372 in cash proceeds.
"Mr. Miller’s sentence of 25 years holds him directly responsible for his intended actions and has undoubtedly saved lives, with a weapon off the streets and drugs that will never find a life to destroy," said Joseph B. Tucker, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Dallas Field Division.
Miller pleaded guilty in October 2025 to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance (fentanyl) and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Raybould noted that the joint effort between the DEA, the Dallas Police Department, the FBI, and municipal attorneys not only removed a high-volume dealer from the streets but permanently eliminated the physical property where the criminal operation thrived.
"Earlier this year I was proud to work with DPD, FBI, and the city to help get the Cole Manor Hotel bulldozed for good," Raybould said. "We will continue to charge people with crimes and go after businesses who harbor illegal conduct."
The case was investigated by the DEA Dallas Field Division and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert, chief of the Northern District of Texas's Major Crimes Section.
The Source: Information in this article is from the United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Texas.