Here’s a comprehensive list of stories that Dallas Morning News staffers have produced regrarding the overdose of Carrollton teens — some in middle school — and related arrests of those accused of dealing fentanyl in recent weeks.
This will be updated frequently as more information is available.
Teen overdoeemergencies sparked an investigation
Three young Carrollton-Farmers Branch students died and six others were hospitalized in a string of overdoses, most of them since December. The youngest hospitalized was 13 years old, according to federal court documents.
Federal drug agents and Carrollton police began working around the clock in January to look into the series of juvenile medical emergencies, the first in September, that showed evidence of fentanyl overdoses.
Federal investigators say each of those tragedies traces back to a single Carrollton house, located just blocks from R.L. Turner High School, where juvenile dealers as young as 14 picked up the drugs and sold them to classmates.
The fatalities and overdoses involve teens enrolled in R.L. Turner, DeWitt Perry Middle School and Dan F. Long Middle School. The most recent death linked to the related fentanyl overdoses was Feb. 1, according to court documents.
One 14-year-old girl, as described in the complaint, overdosed at her home on Christmas Eve and survived after first responders rushed her to a hospital. The same series of events happened again Jan. 16; this time she suffered temporary paralysis.
Has anyone been arrested in connection to the overdoses?
Yes. Luis Eduardo Navarrete and Magaly Mejia Cano made their initial appearance Monday afternoon in federal court in Dallas on charges of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.
The criminal complaint against Navarrete and Mejia Cano described the drugs they distributed as “fake Percocet and OxyContin pills laced with fentanyl.
Ongoing surveillance at the residence, according to the criminal complaint, revealed Navarrete, 21, and Mejia Cano, 29, distributing drugs to multiple individuals, many of them Turner students. The complaint also states that eight of these juveniles — ages 14 to 16 — in turn distributed them to other students.
What is fentanyl?
Fentanyl, a highly potent and addictive synthetic opiate, is often mixed with acetaminophen and other substances then pressed into pills.
Law enforcement officials say fentanyl has eclipsed other street drugs as the deadliest and most widely available in North Texas.
M30 is among the most common street names, along with “percs” and “yerks,” for the blue pressed-powder fentanyl pills, which users generally crush and snort or smoke.
Learn more about the drug here.
What is Narcan?
Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can reverse an opioid overdose. The drug is commonly available in a nasal spray, known as Narcan, but can also be administered via an injectable.
Police departments throughout North Texas, notably Frisco and Plano police, are starting to equip officers with Naloxone, in addition to paramedics. It is also available at drugstores.
