United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 21-year-old Corpus Christi man has been charged with delivery of fentanyl resulting in death and possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Authorities arrested Ricardo Julyan Kross Rios aka Kross, 21, Corpus Christi Thursday. He is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mitchel Neurock at 9:45 a.m. Friday.

A federal grand jury in Corpus Christi returned the two-count indictment March 22, 2023. It alleges that on Dec. 9, 2022, Rios possessed and delivered a substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, the use of which resulted in the death of a person. Rios was also charged with one count of possessing fentanyl for the purpose of distribution on Jan. 17.        

If convicted of distributing fentanyl causing death, Rios faces up to life in prison. He could also be fined up to $1 million. The possession of fentanyl with the intention to distribute carries a 20-year maximum sentence.

The Drug Enforcement Administration led the cooperative law enforcement effort targeting fentanyl with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, Jim Wells County Sheriff’s Office and police departments in Corpus Christi, Aransas Pass and Mathis. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert D. Thorpe Jr. is prosecuting this case.  

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.