Federal Prison Sentences Handed Down in Fentanyl-Related Deaths

Lina Portman2 days ago

0 4 minutes read

Two El Paso women and a San Antonio man have been sentenced to federal prison in unrelated cases in which the people they sold fentanyl to overdosed on the deadly opioid drug, authorities said.

Kathy Lee Nicole Bradford, 32, was sentenced to 14 years in prison, while Patricia Tafoya, 40, was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison for selling pills laced with fentanyl, officials with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas said.

The pills killed a 19-year-old single mother from El Paso. Bradford and Tafoya are also from El Paso.

In an unrelated case, Brennan Dane Short, 49, of San Antonio, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on drug charges after he mailed pills laced with fentanyl to a woman. The woman died of an overdose of the pills at an El Paso hotel.

El Paso woman found dead after taking fentanyl sent to her in the mail

On March 21, 2023, counterfeit “M-30” pills were sold openly to an El Paso woman, authorities said. He mailed a package containing the pills from a U.S. Post Office.

On March 27, El Paso Police Department officers conducted a welfare check on the woman after she failed to show up for work, according to a federal complaint. Co-workers told officers the woman was staying at a hotel on Edgemere Boulevard.

Officers found the woman dead in a hotel room. The El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office concluded the woman died of acute methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl intoxication. The medical examiner concluded the woman “would not have died without the fentanyl,” authorities said.

Police found a small baggie containing blue and pink M-30 pills, pink powder on a folded sheet of white paper and an iPhone belonging to the victim in the hotel room, according to the affidavit. The pills and pink powder tested positive for fentanyl.

The U.S. Postal Service delivered another package addressed to the victim to the same hotel on March 30, 2023. Hotel staff delivered the package to the victim's family.

More: Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, Epidemic Continues to Grow in El Paso and Border Communities

The family opened the package and discovered a container of Mentos gum, according to the affidavit. They found a small bag containing blue and pink pills marked M-30 inside the Mentos container.

The family reported the incident to El Paso police, who notified the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Short was the name of the person who sent the package, the affidavit states. The package was sent from Rowlett, Texas. Security footage and photos of the man who sent the package from the U.S. Post Office match Short's description, the affidavit states.

He was later interviewed by law enforcement in San Antonio. Short admitted to DEA agents that he sent the package. He added that he had previously sent two other packages containing pills to the woman, according to the affidavit.

Short told police the victim originally lived in San Antonio and was concerned about finding a new drug dealer in El Paso, so he began sending him drugs through the mail, the affidavit states.

He said he sold the drugs for between $10 and $25 a pill, according to the affidavit. The victim paid him through CashApp.

More: El Paso man pleads guilty to trying to sell 60,000 fentanyl pills to police officer

Agents searched Short’s San Antonio home and found “374.66 grams of suspected fentanyl pills, 42.88 grams of suspected cocaine, 599.05 grams of suspected methamphetamine, 74.98 grams of suspected psilocybin, 91.95 grams of unknown pills, 19.6 pounds of marijuana, three firearms and an unspecified amount of U.S. currency,” according to the affidavit.

Short pleaded guilty on April 4 to one count of distribution of a controlled substance causing death or serious bodily injury. He was sentenced on June 27 to 11 years in federal prison. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after serving his prison sentence.

No further information has been released about the victim.

Single mother dies from fentanyl poisoning

Bradford coordinated the sale of 10 “M-30” pills containing fentanyl to an El Paso woman in April 2022, according to a federal indictment. Tafoya delivered the pills to the victim, authorities said.

The victim, a 19-year-old single mother, consumed some of the pills and died. An investigation by the El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office determined the victim died of acute fentanyl intoxication, authorities said. No other information has been released about the victim.

Bradford admitted in March that she knew the pills contained fentanyl, authorities said. She pleaded guilty April 2 to one count of distribution of a controlled substance causing death or serious bodily injury. She was sentenced June 27 to 14 years in prison. She was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after serving her prison sentence.

More: Don't Leave Fentanyl Behind. Drugs Found in Hamburgers at El Paso Border Crossing

Tafoya pleaded guilty on April 2 to one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute. She was sentenced on June 27 to one year and nine months in prison. She was also sentenced to three years of supervised release after serving her prison sentence.

Bradford and Tafoya were also ordered to participate in a drug treatment program, according to court documents.

You can contact Aaron Martinez at [email protected] or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

El Paso woman found dead after taking fentanyl sent to her in the mail

Single mother dies from fentanyl poisoning

Lina Portman

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