By Jerald Jimenez
Jul 23, 2023, 21:34 PM EDT
Drug enforcement agents in Carrolton, Texas, arrested an 18-year-old teenager who kept thousands of fentanyl pills in a microwave oven, which authorities say could be linked to the overdose deaths of four young people.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said it suspected Julio Gonzales Jr. was one of the main sources of fentanyl distribution in North Texas, according to Univision.
According to information from the Northern Texas District Attorney’s Office, in the area where the suspect lived, four minors have died from an overdose of fentanyl since September 2022.
The last of these cases was a 15-year-old girl who died of a fentanyl overdose last June, a case in which Lizbeth Prieto, 19, and Christian López, 24, are listed as suspects, being arrested and charged.
At least five witnesses, including a 16-year-old teenager accused of being a drug dealer, identified Gonzales Jr., known as “J-Money,” as the “source” in the drug supply through photographs.
If convicted of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, the teen could receive up to 40 years in prison.
Meanwhile, the federal attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Leigha Simonton, specified that with Gonzales Jr., “another domino has fallen in the series of juvenile fentanyl overdoses in Carrollton.”
“The Justice Department will not stop until its entire (network) infrastructure has been dismantled,” Simonton added.
Likewise, in the house where the drugs were found, a kilogram of cocaine was found inside a plastic food container, as well as cash and several firearms.
“Our children’s future is too important to allow this to continue,” Simonton added.
Part of the communication between “J-Money” and street dealers and potential customers was done through social media, specifically an Instagram account, authorities said.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that has triggered alarms in the United States for having caused two thirds of the 110,000 drug overdose deaths that were registered last year in the country, representing a record number.
With information from the EFE agency