On Tuesday, authorities in Sierra Blanca arrested Willie “Sapo” Lara III, the brother of a recent suspected fentanyl overdose victim who died in Alpine last month, according to Alpine Police Chief Darrell Losoya.
Federal authorities are investigating the case and are not yet releasing details about the charges against Lara, Losoya said, and it’s uncertain where he is being held. However, Losoya said the charges against Lara are drug related and are not related to the death of the brother.
Lara’s brother — Ismael “IJ” Vega, 23 — died while doing drugs with his mother on February 15 at their home in Alpine. His mother survived after a trip to the Big Bend Regional Medical Center, according to several sources close to the family who asked not to be named for privacy reasons. Lara fled town after his brother’s death. Because he was a major supplier of drugs to the Alpine area, numerous law enforcement agencies had been looking for him, leading to his arrest Tuesday, the sources said.
On February 6, 34-year-old Daniel “Danny” Celaya of Alpine was found dead from a suspected overdose at Uncle’s Convenience Store at 2411 E. Highway 90 in Alpine, according to Losoya. However, Losoya stressed that toxicology reports from an autopsy have not come back for both Celaya and Vega, so the cause of their deaths remains uncertain.
In the wake of the suspected overdoses, Brewster County officials warned residents about the dangers of fentanyl and hosted first-aid training that included instruction on how to use the anti-overdose drug Narcan.