A Colorado man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for distributing fentanyl in Alpine, Texas.
Douglas Christopher Steele, 54, of Denver, was found guilty of two counts related to fentanyl distribution.
According to court documents, Steele engaged in a text message conversation with a man living in Alpine on January 29, 2024. Steele agreed to mail 20 fentanyl pills to the man’s work address.
Steele notified the man that he’d mailed the package of fentanyl on February 2, and, on February 5, the man’s co-worker received the FedEx delivery.
Through additional text message exchanges, Steele and the man discussed how strong the fentanyl was, and just after midnight on February 6, 2024, the man messaged Steele telling him that he nearly overdosed.
Later that morning, the man was found unresponsive in the restroom at his place of work and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Texas Department of Public Safety (TX DPS) Criminal Investigation Division (CID) investigation revealed the envelopes at the man’s residence that had been mailed from Steele’s Colorado residence, and eventually, the cell phone messages between the man and Steele.
Steele was indicted on May 9, 2024, in Pecos for two counts related to fentanyl distribution and was arrested in Denver on May 11.
He pleaded guilty on November 18, 2024.
Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
HSI and TX DPS CID investigated the case with assistance from the Alpine Police Department, Brewster County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Greenbaum prosecuted the case.
Related Federal Cases
- Douglas Christopher Steele, Fentanyl Distribution, Colorado 2024 · Texas
- Halie Sletten, Fentanyl Distribution Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, South Dakota 2020 · South Dakota
- Sandra Araceli Diaz Vazquez, Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Trafficking, Texas 2023 · Texas
- Ryan Miller, Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Distribution, Iowa 2025 · Texas
- Alejandro Gomez-Cervantes, Fentanyl Trafficking, Texas 2025 · Kansas
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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