Arizona Woman, Dallas Man Receive Lengthy Federal Prison Sentences as Part of Homeland Security Task Force Investigation into Deadly Fentanyl Overdose
Sherman, TX – An Arizona woman and a Dallas man have been sentenced to federal prison as part of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation into a deadly fentanyl overdose.
Pamela Esquivias, also known as Azalea, 25, of Maricopa, Arizona, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to 262 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III on September 17, 2026.
Aaron Jay Perez, 29, of Dallas, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison by Judge Mazzant on September 17, 2026.
According to information presented in court, in August 2023, a 16-year-old girl overdosed and died in Flower Mound after ingesting counterfeit oxycodone laced with fentanyl. A law enforcement investigation into the death identified Esquivias as a fentanyl source of supply, distributing hundreds of thousands of blue M-30 fentanyl tablets from Arizona to multiple states, including Texas. The investigation also revealed Perez as a local distributor in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, responsible for trafficking not only fentanyl, but large quantities of marijuana and cocaine.
The distribution of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl has devastating and irreversible consequences, and this case is a tragic reminder of what is at stake,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Joseph B. Tucker. “A 16-year-old girl lost her life because criminals chose profit over human life. These sentences demonstrate the Homeland Security Task Force commitment to identifying and dismantling fentanyl trafficking networks and holding those responsible.”
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Dallas comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Dallas Field Office; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations - Dallas (ICE-HSI); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Dallas Field Division; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Dallas Field Division; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CD; United States Postal Service, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS); United States Secret Service (USSS); Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DSS); TEXOMA HIDTA; and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Eastern District of Texas with the prosecution being led by Eastern District of Texas Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Johnson.
