Austin Fentanyl Dealer Sentenced to 18 Years in Federal Prison

AUSTIN, Texas - An Austin man was sentenced in a federal court in Austin to 220 months in prison for trafficking fentanyl while in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.

According to court documents, on March 24, 2023, Daltha Ray Terrell, aka Goo Ray, 31, presented himself to a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm claiming that someone had shot him. Officers secured his car and obtained a search warrant. Located within the car were approximately 636 blue pills with "M-30" markings. Officers also discovered two firearms.

Further investigation revealed that Terrell was not shot by another individual but had shot himself when attempting to pull his firearm from his jacket. Additionally, the pills found in his vehicle tested positive for fentanyl.

Months later, on Dec. 1, 2023, officers responded to an overdose on an Austin Capital Metro bus. The victim was declared deceased after efforts to revive him failed, and officers located a small amount of crushed blue powder that field tested for fentanyl. Video surveillance reflected that the deceased victim had boarded the bus near Terrell's residence. Evidence from the victim's phone and CashApp revealed that Terrell was the victim's dealer. Autopsy results opined that "fentanyl toxicity" was the sole cause of the victim's death.

A state search warrant at Terrell's residence resulted in the discovery of approximately 2,000 blue ''M-30" pills suspected to contain fentanyl, two handguns-one of which was equipped with a machinegun conversion device-and a shotgun that was later discovered to be stolen in a home invasion robbery one month prior to the execution of the search warrant.

The investigation revealed that from June 6, 2023, until the date of Terrell's arrest on May 22, 2024, Terrell engaged in the unbroken distribution of fentanyl in excess of 400 grams. Terrell pleaded guilty on Jan. 21, 2026, to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession of a firearm in a drug trafficking crime.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Austin Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Gardner prosecuted the case.

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