Two Dallas Residents Sentenced to 188 Months in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Over $600,000 Worth of Fentanyl

Two Dallas residents were sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for their roles in distributing over $600,000 worth of fentanyl, announced Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy E. Larson.

Christle Nadia Ruiz, 22, and Ricardo Antonio Flores, 29, both of Dallas, Texas, pled guilty in October 2024 to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.  On June 26, 2025, they were each sentenced to 188 months’ confinement by United States District Judge Karen Gren Scholer.

Court documents reveal Flores and Ruiz had been living together and distributing fentanyl from a home on Ezekiel Avenue in Dallas, Texas.  In February 2023, Flores delivered 1,000 fentanyl pills and another 1,000 fentanyl pills in March 2023, in exchange for $2,000 on each occasion.  Thereafter, in April 2023, Ruiz received a shipment of approximately 50,000 fentanyl pills that she and Flores were planning to distribute.  On that same date, while officers executed a search warrant at their home, Ruiz attempted to flush several fentanyl pills down the commode.  

According to agents’ testimony, Ruiz had also received approximately 10,000 fentanyl pills about three to four weeks before the execution of the search warrant and that she used a social media account with the phrases “Happy vibes . . . Thug Paradise” to advertise the sale of fentanyl.  Agents also testified that the street value of one fentanyl pill is $10 in the Dallas, Texas, area.  The estimated street value of 60,000 pills is $600,000.

“As we pointed out to the Court during the defendants’ sentencing hearings, tens of thousands of tragic overdose deaths occur each year due to fentanyl, and those who distribute it know exactly what they are doing,” said Acting United States Attorney Nancy Larson.  “The staggering amount of fentanyl in this case would have caused far-reaching devastation to our families and community, but for the tremendous efforts of our law enforcement partners in apprehending these defendants and keeping this deadly poison off the streets. We are resolved to relentlessly pursue these offenders and seek the lengthy prison sentences they deserve.”

“This sentence sends a clear message that those who profit from poisoning our communities with fentanyl will be held accountable,” said Eduardo A. Chavez, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Dallas.  “Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, has caused thousands of overdose deaths and devastated communities across the nation.  The investigation and sentence handed down in this case reflects an unwavering resolve by law enforcement to protect public safety and pursue justice for the victims of the opioid epidemic.”

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Rockwall County Sheriff’s Department, the Rockwall Police Department, the Garland Police Department, the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office, and the Flower Mound Police Department.  Special assistance was provided by the Texas Department of Public safety during the execution of the search warrant.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney George Leal.