A Tortosa woman has been sentenced to nearly 22 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy linked to the death of a 16-year-old girl in Texas, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Pamela Esquivias, 25, was sentenced Sept. 17 after admitting to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. Prosecutors said the case stemmed from the August 2023 death of a teen in Flower Mound, Texas, who ingested counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.
Federal investigators identified Esquivias as a source of fentanyl in the case, according to prosecutors. They said she distributed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl tablets from Arizona to multiple states, including Texas.
A second defendant, Aaron Jay Perez of Dallas, also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and was sentenced Sept. 17 to 10 years in federal prison. Prosecutors said he acted as a local distributor in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and trafficked fentanyl, marijuana and cocaine.
Esquivias was previously arrested in Maricopa in December 2023 in an unrelated case, according to a probable cause statement. She was accused then of assaulting her sister and possessing a stolen firearm.
