ALPINE — Three tri-county individuals who pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl and methamphetamine with intent to distribute were sentenced in federal court on September 25.
All three were sentenced to federal prison with three years supervised release and credit for time served, including: Willie Ben “Sapo” Lara III, 30 months; Emily Rachael Medley, 15 months; and Michael Angel Espinosa 27 months.
The three were arrested on March 5 in Sierra Blanca when a deputy stopped their car and a subsequent search found 10.9 grams of fentanyl pills, 2.6 grams of fentanyl powder, and 3.5 grams of fentanyl in rock form, according to court records. Federal agents interviewed the three, who admitted to traveling to New Mexico to buy the drugs before returning to Alpine to sell them.
Lara’s brother — Ismael “I.J.” Vega, 23 — died of a fentanyl overdose while taking drugs with his mother, who also overdosed, on February 15 at their home in Alpine, but the mother lived, according to sources close to the family and a toxicology report that showed fentanyl as the cause of death.