SAN MARCOS, Texas — A San Marcos man has been sentenced to a decade in prison for dealing fentanyl.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, 20-year-old Colten Romeo Thayer was arrested during a traffic stop on Aug. 29, 2022. Hays County deputies searched his vehicle and found a bag containing eight grams of fentanyl.
Thayer had been purchasing fentanyl pills from other local dealers for personal use and to sell them. He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl on Dec. 21, 2023.
The release stated that Thayer's co-defendant, Anthony Perez Rios, pleaded guilty to one count of possession to distribute 40 grams of more of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl. Rios remains in federal custody and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 23.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the San Marcos Police Department investigated this case.
Recent fentanyl sentencings
Thayer is just the latest Central Texas resident to be sentenced to prison for crimes involving fentanyl.
In February, 18-year-old Jaquell Desean Ray was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the death of a Kyle 15-year-old who died from a fentanyl overdose in April 2023.
In January, 44-year-old Tony Robert Barrera III – a repeat offender in Hays County – was found guilty of fentanyl possession with intent to deliver, resulting in a 60-year sentence. Barrera was also found guilty of felon possession of a firearm, landing him another 50 years.
RELATED: Austin man found guilty, sentenced to 60 years for fentanyl possession with intent to deliver
And back in December, three people – 46-year-old David Lee Jr. of Austin, 43-year-old Virginia Zepeda of Austin and 37-year-old Jackie Lynne Chester of Taylor – were sentenced for distributing fentanyl-laced pills to a Coupland 18-year-old who died.