A key supplier in the Carrollton juvenile fentanyl overdose case has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton announced the sentencing of 19-year-old Julio Gonzales, Jr., also known as “J-Money,” on Wednesday.
Gonzales, who was charged in July 2023 and pleaded guilty in October 2023, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade.
He faced charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance.
During the sentencing hearing, evidence revealed that Gonzales was one of three primary suppliers for Luis Eduardo Navarrete.
Navarrete, 22, distributed fentanyl to students at R.L. Turner High School, Dewitt Perry Middle School, and Dan Long Middle School.
“Julio Gonzalez will spend the next 15 years in federal prison because of his involvement in supplying and distributing poison in the form of one deadly pill. Because of that same pill, illicit fentanyl, lives have been lost and families have been forever changed,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez.
“The women and men of DEA Dallas will never stop investigating overdose and poisoning deaths and bring those responsible to justice. We all must do our part to prevent and educate others that truly One Pill Can Kill.”
Navarrete himself was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison last week after prosecutors presented evidence indicating he ignored warnings about multiple child overdoses, including a message stating, “another youngin dead bro.”
Another key supplier, Jason Xavier Villanueva, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl to a minor.
The third supplier, Jessie Alexander Perez Martinez, is awaiting trial.
Gonzales admitted in his plea that he trafficked approximately 120,000 blue M-30 pills laced with fentanyl to Navarrete, Navarrete’s drug runner Robert Gaitan, and at least one juvenile dealer.
The pills were often sold in large quantities known as “K Packs,” containing 1,000 pills each.
Authorities arrested Gonzales on July 20 and searched his Dallas residence, uncovering 16,000 counterfeit M-30 pills, $74,294 in cash, and nine firearms.
The search also uncovered a Romanian Draco AK-47 style handgun, a Kel-Tec long-range pistol, and a Glock with a machine gun conversion device.
They also found high-capacity magazines, body armor, a vacuum sealer, digital scales, a money counter, and multiple cell phones.
This case has led to federal charges against 11 defendants and has been linked to 14 juvenile overdoses, four of which were fatal, involving children as young as 13.
“This defendant – a heavily-armed, prolific drug trafficker – was involved in providing pills that caused 14 Carrollton kids to overdose, and four of them to die,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton.
“I want to implore our community: Please, educate your children on the dangers of fentanyl. Drug traffickers are not your friends. They know one pill can kill, and they hand them over anyway.”