Las Vegas Man Sentenced To Prison For Distribution Of Fentanyl Resulting In Death

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Richard F. Boulware II to 10 years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for distributing counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, that resulted in the death of another person.

Gabriel Ulloa (30) pleaded guilty in May 2022 to distribution of a controlled substance.

According to court documents, in June 2020, Ulloa sold three counterfeit M-30 oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl. Ulloa’s phone records indicated that he was aware he was selling counterfeit pills. A 27-year-old man – who believed he was buying oxycodone pills from Ulloa – died as result of ingesting the fentanyl-laced pills.

Fentanyl – a Schedule II controlled substance – is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin. Just two milligrams of fentanyl, or the amount that could fit on the tip of a pencil, is considered a potentially lethal dose. In 2021, a record number of Americans – 107,622 – died from a drug poisoning or overdose. Sixty-six percent of those deaths can be attributed to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kevin Adams for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Las Vegas District Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Miller for HSI Las Vegas made the announcement.

The DEA, HSI, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Major Violators Narcotics Crimes Bureau, Overdose Response Team, and the Henderson Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Sokolich prosecuted the case.

This case was part of the Southern Nevada’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program that enhances and coordinates drug control efforts among local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. The program provides agencies with coordination, equipment, technology, and additional resources to combat drug trafficking and its harmful consequences in critical regions of the United States.

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