Press Release
Drug Trafficker Pleads Guilty to Selling Fatal Fentanyl
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Texas
The drug dealer who sold the fentanyl that killed an Abilene man pleaded guilty this week to a federal drug crime, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
Elijah James Perez, 21, was indicted in September 2022. He pleaded guilty Tuesday to distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.
According to court documents, Mr. Perez admits that he sold fentanyl to a victim, identified in court documents as J.W., on Feb. 11, 2022.
The following day, J.W. was found nonresponsive on his bed. After 40 minutes of attempted resuscitation, he was pronounced dead on scene.
Witnesses told law enforcement they believed J.W. had ingested Percocet, but an autopsy found that J.W. died from the toxic effects of fentanyl.
According to plea papers, Mr. Perez admits that approximately three days before J.W.’s death, Mr. Perez offered to sell him “5 percs.” Three days later, Mr. Perez met with J.W. outside his home around 10 p.m. to make the sale. The pills were laced with fentanyl.
Six minutes later, J.W. texted his girlfriend that he’d received some “percs” that were “hella strong.” Hours later, he was dead of an overdose.
If the federal district judge accepts his plea of guilty, Mr. Perez faces a mandatory minimum sentence that includes 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Office and the Abilene Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Tusing is prosecuting the case.
Contact
Erin Dooley
Press Officer
214-659-8707
erin.dooley@usdoj.gov
Updated January 20, 2023
Topic
Drug Trafficking