Wise County man who obtained fentanyl that led to pregnant girlfriend’s death is sentenced
Rhett Barclay and his girlfriend in January 2023 obtained from a source in Fort Worth about 40 fentanyl pills that they intended to distribute, law enforcement authorities said.
The fentanyl dealer’s girlfriend ingested one of the pills and overdosed. She was pregnant and died as her toddler watched, according to a prosecutor.
In U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, Judge Mark Pittman on Thursday sentenced Barclay to about 23 years in prison in connection with his conviction on conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Barclay, 24, lived in Alvord, a city in Wise County. He was indicted in September 2023 and pleaded guilty in February. Judge Pittman selected the prison term from a possible range of between five years and 40 years.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas did not release the name of Barclay’s girlfriend.
In a document known as a factual résumé, Barclay admitted that fentanyl he obtained led to a second fatal overdose.
“This defendant is implicated in multiple deaths, including the tragic demise of his unborn child,” U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton wrote in a statement to the press. “Those who traffic in fentanyl should know that the poison they peddle can take the lives of anyone who ingests it — even their nearest and dearest. Once again, this case proves that even half of one pill can kill.”
Two years before his girlfriend’s death, Barclay in January 2021 distributed from his residence one fentanyl pill to two people who each ingested half. Each overdosed. One was resuscitated by medics. The other died.
