LUBBOCK, Texas — A Texas Tech University professor and two Lubbock residents have been federally charged in an alleged fentanyl distribution conspiracy, authorities announced.
Daniel Taylor, 50, an assistant professor of marketing and supply chain management at Texas Tech’s Rawls College of Business, was charged by federal complaint Feb. 18 with conspiracy to distribute or possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Also charged are Alisha Red-Eagle, 21, and Mackenzie Gilcrease, 28, both of Lubbock.
According to the complaint, Taylor allegedly distributed two variations of fentanyl powder known as “Pink Flamingo” and “Ghost.”
Investigators allege he had been under investigation for several months for suspected drug distribution activity.
Court documents detail an incident on Jan. 12 in which law enforcement agents observed Red-Eagle enter and exit Taylor’s vehicle at a Lubbock convenience store before getting into a white SUV.
A Lubbock County sheriff’s deputy later stopped the SUV for a traffic violation.
Occupants told deputies that a man in the back seat was overdosing on suspected fentanyl allegedly supplied by Red-Eagle.
Narcan was administered and emergency medical services responded.
During a search of the SUV, deputies reported finding five fentanyl pills, a baggie containing fentanyl, aluminum foil wrappers with fentanyl residue and a pink baggie containing fentanyl powder.
“Instead of focusing on teaching students supply chain management, the defendant, as alleged, was developing and implementing his own supply chain of lethal fentanyl into the streets of Lubbock,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould said in a statement. “As alleged, at least in one instance, the fentanyl the defendant peddled through his drug trafficking organization caused an overdose.”
Raybould added that his office will prosecute drug traffickers “no matter if you are a professor or a street level dealer.”
The complaint also outlines events on Feb. 17, when agents allegedly observed Gilcrease visit Taylor’s residence.
After Gilcrease left in a pickup truck, a deputy conducted a traffic stop. Following a K-9 alert, deputies searched the vehicle and reported finding three pink plastic baggies of fentanyl inside a pink envelope with a flamingo graphic, as well as a baggie containing methamphetamine.
Shortly after midnight Feb. 18, agents executed a search warrant at Taylor’s home.
Authorities reported finding white powder and a crystal-like substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, along with pink envelopes, plastic baggies with flamingo stickers and baggies bearing a ghost graphic.
“This arrest underscores the stark and troubling irony that an individual entrusted with educating others instead chose to distribute one of the deadliest drugs facing our communities today,” said Joseph B. Tucker, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Dallas Field Division. He added that the case highlights how fentanyl trafficking “can emerge from any corner of our society.”
All three defendants appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge in Lubbock for initial appearances and remain in federal custody. If convicted, each faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
The investigation was conducted by the Texas Anti-Gang Center and the Caprock High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force, which includes federal, state and local agencies.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Rancourt is prosecuting the case.
A federal complaint is an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
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