Fentanyl trafficker tied to juvenile overdoses in Carrollton pleads guilty to drug crimes
CARROLLTON, Texas - A fentanyl trafficker connected to overdoses by middle and high school students in Carrollton has pleaded guilty to multiple drug crimes.
22-year-old Jason Villanueva pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl to a person under 21 years of age. He faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Court documents say that Villanueva admitted to distributing more than 200,000 fentanyl pills over six months. The pills, which were marked as M-30 to look like oxycodone pills, were given to a network of juvenile and adult drug dealers in Carrollton.
Jason Xavier Villanueva
The pills were tied to as many as 10 overdoses among Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD students. The victims ranged in age from 13 to 17 years old.
It’s a guilty plea Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Field Division Eduardo Chavez hopes serves as a deterrent.
"It must be received by others who go down this. You will be held accountable," he said. "No one is above the law. Justice for a lot of these victims must be sought."
Villanueva is the third person connected to overdoses in Carrollton and Flower Mound to plead guilty.
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Magaly Cano and Stephen Brinson pleaded guilty last month. 5 others have been charged but have not been convicted.
They all face up to 40 years in federal prison.
People have to be worried about long prison sentences because of the devastation and deaths and tragedy the distribution of fentanyl in DFW can bring," Chavez said.
Several others have been charged, including Luis Navarette, who’s accused of working with Cano.
"It’s very common for drug organizations and rings for when one in unavailable, they seek alternate methods," Chavez said. "That is where we come in to try and connect the dots. Do they know each other? Are they getting it from the same individuals? Our work is not done. The investigation continues. We continue to find other threads to pull on."
READ MORE: Flower Mound fentanyl dealer pleads guilty to peddling 1,000+ pills
Villanueva's sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 4.