A Carrollton man was sentenced to 9 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges related to a social media scheme to sell fentanyl pills to local teens.
Donovan Jude Andrews, 21, addressed U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade in court on Wednesday, expressing remorse for his actions and claiming he was not in a “right state of mind,” according to The Dallas Morning News.
Andrews’ defense attorney, Kristen Cox Beckman, asked for leniency on behalf of Andrews, calling him a “low-level drug abuser who needed to feed his addiction” to fentanyl to escape his own trauma.
However, Judge Kinkeade was firm in his appreciation for Andrews’ culpability in what the former called the “scourge” of fentanyl poisoning the country.
“To be a door-to-door drug salesman to kids and brag about killing kids… It’s like coming to the door and shooting them,” he said, per the DMN.
Ordering Andrews to undergo drug treatment in prison, Kinkeade told him, “God and your family will forgive you. … I’m not sure I will.”
Andrews’ sentencing on October 4 came months after his arrest on charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and selling drugs to someone under 21, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
Apparently trying to capitalize on the arrests of Luis Eduardo Navarrete and Magaly Mejia Cano, two individuals charged with selling drugs to students in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD that caused multiple fatal overdoses, Andrews allegedly advertised fentanyl-laced pills for $10 each on Instagram.
Coming into contact with teenagers online, Andrews delivered them the pills. In one instance, a 14-year-old girl told police she paid him through a money transfer app and that he dropped the pills off in her mailbox. She subsequently overdosed.
“Most of us recoiled in horror when we heard that nine Carrollton children suffered ten fentanyl overdoses in the span of just six months,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton said when announcing his arrest. “Mr. Andrews, on the other hand, allegedly seized on the situation as a marketing opportunity.”
“Knowing full well that fentanyl was killing our kids, he allegedly attempted to convert survivors into customers,” added Simonton.
Authorities have been grappling with a raging opioid crisis among young adults and teens. Fentanyl is so potent that even a two-milligram dose can be fatal.
Meanwhile, drug crime in Dallas continues to add to the city’s high crime rate. There were 7,909 drug offenses logged this year as of October 6, according to data from the City’s crime analytics dashboard, marking an almost 6% increase year over year.
Dallas police have been struggling to curb crime overall within the city limits amid an officer shortage. The department currently maintains a force of fewer than 3,200 officers despite a City analysis recommending a force of 4,000.
Downtown Dallas has been especially affected by the shortage, logging significantly lower crime rates than Fort Worth’s downtown area. Drug violations exceeded the latter by a ratio of 41 to 1. Downtown Fort Worth is reportedly patrolled by a dedicated neighborhood police unit and private security guards.