DEA addresses fentanyl arrest

SAN MARCOS – “Hays County has seen too many young people and children as young as 15 years of age die in the throes of a fentanyl overdose,” said Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins.

On Wednesday, May 3, the Hays County District Attorney’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Fentanyl Task Force gathered for a press conference regarding the arrest of Jaquell Desean Ray, 18.

Ray’s arrest is related to the death of a 15-year-old Lehman High School student.

On April 11, the 15-year-old was found unresponsive and not breathing at a residence in the 100 block of Cotton Gin Road in Kyle. Life-saving measures were attempted by Hays County EMS, but the victim was pronounced deceased.

The Hays County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division (CID) and the Special Services Division led an investigation into the victim’s death.

The preliminary investigation indicated that the victim’s death was caused by an accidental drug overdose, specifically fentanyl. During the autopsy that was later performed by the Travis County Medical Examiner, the victim had positive results for fentanyl. The criminal investigation identified Ray as the individual believed to have sold the victim fentanyl.

According to the DEA, “Fentanyl is involved in more deaths of Americans under 50 than any cause of death, including heart disease, cancer, homicide, suicide and other accidents.” And Hays County is no stranger to this statistic.

“In 2022, 40% of the overdoses in Hays County were children under the age of 18,” Higgins said. “People are deliberately supplying our children with this drug and we are facing a public health crisis.”

Selling narcotics is a felony and Ray has been charged with felony murder.

“I want the people who sell it to know, I want anyone considering selling it to know, that you can face a charge of felony murder,” Higgins said. “It is a first-degree felony, punishable by 5-99 [years] to life in a Texas prison. To sell fentanyl is to risk a life in prison.”

According to Tyson Hodges, the assistant special agent in charge of the DEA in Austin, in 2023 the Houston field division, which includes Austin, has seized more than 74,000 fake fentanyl pills and 230 pounds of powdered fentanyl, which equates to seven million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl.

“Americans are dying in record numbers as a result of this poison that is being pushed out by the drug cartels, that poison being fentanyl,” Hodges said.

To combat this crisis in Hays County, the DEA has partnered with the Hays County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in the area to create an overdose investigations team.

The purpose of this team is to identify and arrest individuals who are selling fentanyl and to help bring justice to the families and loved ones that have lost people to fentanyl overdoses.

To get the word out about fentanyl, the team has increased outreach efforts and educational programs, as well as conducted forums in schools and communities throughout the state.

“Law enforcement cannot fight this fight alone; we need parents' and community help,” Hodges said. “To the parents, drug cartels are targeting your children through social media, which has become the superhighway of the drug cartel. Drug dealers are using emojis and other items to sell drugs online. Please discuss and engage with your kids on the dangers of fentanyl and other drugs.”

Anyone that is active on social media is a target, according to Hodges. Six out of every 10 pills the DEA seizes contains a lethal dose of fentanyl.

“To those that are selling fentanyl or other fake pills, be prepared. You will be the target of this investigation and we will come after you.” Hodges said. “To everybody out there, remember, if you aren’t getting your medications from your doctor or pharmacy, it is not legitimate; it is unsafe and it could be deadly.”