Phoenix Man Gets 10 Years for Selling Fentanyl That Caused Death

PHOENIX, AZ — A 29-year-old Phoenix man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling fentanyl to a woman that she later took, overdosed and died.

Reyes Luis Holguin also agreed this week to pay around $6,000 in restitution to the family of the young mother who overdosed and died in August 2019, after she bought fentanyl from Holguin.

Holguin previously pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl. In addition to 10 years in prison, he was also sentenced in December to five years of supervised probation.

Holguin and the victim communicated through a messenger app to set up the sale of fentanyl pills, which were disguised as prescription oxycodone pills, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona.

The woman took the pills and died. Her mother found her body the next morning, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Holguin later sold more than 67 fentanyl pills to undercover police, and set up a future sale of around 100 more, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

“These dangerous pills are flooding Arizona communities, and studies show that 40 percent contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl,” U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino said in the news release. “This sentence should serve as a warning message to sellers, and as a reminder of the need for compassion and creative solutions in protecting Arizonans from these pills. We are grateful to our partners at DEA and Phoenix PD for their vigilance in fentanyl investigations and prosecutions.”