Drug dealer gets 45-year sentence in county's first fentanyl murder trial
A Wichita County Jury on Thursday sentenced Jasinto Jimenez to 45 years in prison for the death of Andres Diaz in July 2022.
The sentence came one day after the same jury convicted Jimenez of murder for providing the fentanyl pill that killed Diaz. Fentanyl is an opioid that's 1,000 times more powerful than morphine and is illegally counterfeited and sold as Percocet. A single pill can result in death.
The murder conviction and sentence are the first in Wichita County for someone accused of selling fentanyl that causes the death of another person. Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie said it may be the first in Texas.
"We are sick and tired of this in Wichita County," Gillespie said of the 15 local deaths blamed on the potent narcotic. "Think twice before you deal this poison to kids, to high school students, to college students in Wichita County."
Gillespie said law enforcement officers in the city and county have seen a significant drop in fentanyl sales since prosecutors began leveling murder charges against dealers.
"We promised you a year-and-a-half ago that if you were selling fentanyl, we were coming after you," said Dobie Kosub, first assistant district attorney who is leading the prosecution of suspected fentanyl dealers. "They (jurors) said with this 45 year sentence they are fed up with this and they are not willing to tolerate it. So knock it off."
During the trial it was revealed Diaz and a companion, Leigha Smith, purchased two fentanyl pills and some marijuana from Jimenez. Smith said she swallowed her pill, but Diaz crushed his, rolled up a dollar bill, and snorted the drug through it. Diaz lost consciousness in Smith's car and several hours later Smith drove him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Defense attorney Michael Valverde told jurors in his closing arguments that Jimenez's life had spiraled out of control after he began using drugs, but said he had never committed a violent act. Valverde encouraged jurors to return a sentence of 25 years.
But Assistant District Attorney Matt Shelton told jurors they could make a positive change in Wichita County by sending a message: "Take a stand and say we're done. No more fentanyl."
He urged jurors to deliver a life sentence.
The jury had the option of sentencing Jimenez from five to 99 years or life in prison. Jimenez, 23, could become eligible for parole in about 22 years.
Diaz's relatives read victim impact statements after Jimenez was sentenced.
"I wouldn't wish this on his family -- any family," his sister said.
"My son wasn't perfect, but he was a person who cared for everyone," his mother said through tears.
Smith was also indicted for murder in the Diaz case, but that indictment was dropped in exchange for a manslaughter indictment. She remains in jail awaiting her trial.
Wichitan Jakob Blankenship awaits trial for murder in another fentanyl-related death.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Drug dealer gets 45-year sentence in county's first fentanyl murder trial
