North Texas fentanyl supplier federally charged in string of 14 juvenile overdoses
A top North Texas drug source in a string of juvenile fentanyl overdoses was federally charged on July 14, authorities said in a news release Friday.
Julio Gonzales Jr., 18, was charged via criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in a string of 14 juvenile overdoses in Carrollton. Four of the overdoses were fatal, according to the release from U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
Gonzales was arrested at his home Thursday and made his first court appearance Friday in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Harris Toliver.
Gonzales’ roommate, Adrian Martinez-Leon, 19, was also arrested Thursday and is charged with drug conspiracy via criminal complaint, according to the release.
Martinez-Leon also made his first appearance before Toliver on Friday.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents found “thousands” of fentanyl-laced pills stuffed in a microwave, cocaine in a food container, a “bulk” of money hidden in a closet, and several guns in their search of Gonzales’ and Martinez-Leon’s home, according to Simonton.
“Another domino has fallen in the Carrollton juvenile fentanyl overdose saga,” Simonton said in the release. “Rest assured, the Justice Department will not stop until their entire fentanyl trafficking infrastructure has been dismantled. Our kids’ futures are too important to allow this to continue. “
“These arrests demonstrate the continued resolve of DEA Dallas to investigate this organization to the fullest extent possible,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez in the release.
Gonzales was known as a supplier, “J-Money,” among drug dealers who were selling fentanyl to teens, according to Simonton. He was also identified as a supplier to a 16-year-old drug dealer who delivered fentanyl pills to a 14-year-old girl who died as a result.
According to the investigation, agents saw Gonzales supplying drugs to a person who went to a nearby alleyway and smoked them. Agents also saw Martinez-Leon “conducting a hand-to-hand transaction” with a person outside of their front door.
Gonzales and Martinez-Leon are the ninth and 10th defendants who have been charged in the Carrollton overdoses of middle-school and high-school children, according to the release.
Jason Xavier Villanueva, Magaly Cano, Donovan Jude Andrews, and Stephen Brinson pleaded guilty earlier this year to being involved in the overdoses.
Gonzales and Martinez-Leon could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Office, the Dallas Police Department’s SWAT team, and the Carrollton Police Department conducted the investigation.
