A third person — called a "bulk source" distributor of fentanyl — was arrested in connection with a string of deadly overdoses in a Dallas suburb, authorities said Wednesday.
Jason Xavier Villanueva, 22, was the third person implicated in overdoses that have been plaguing Carrollton, just north of Dallas, officials said.
Villanueva is "a bulk source and distributor of 'M30' pills containing fentanyl," according to a criminal complaint.
"Villanueva is actively distributing bulk amounts of deadly fentanyl pills to juveniles and adults within the Northern District of Texas," the complaint said.
Luis Eduardo Navarrete and Magaly Mejia Cano were arrested this month in connection with the overdoses, officials said.
Since Sept. 18, there have been 10 overdoses — three of them deadly — of students from R.L. Turner High School, Dewitt Perry Middle School and Dan F. Long Middle School, authorities said.
The drugs were moved by eight dealers, all students at Turner High School who are 14 to 17 years old, according to the complaint. The sales were made to victims 13 to 17 years old, officials said.
Sickened students who survived helped authorities find Villanueva, a former Turner student who used social media to make his deals, authorities said.
An attorney for Villanueva did not immediately reply to a request for comment Wednesday.
