Laredo Man Sentenced to 21 Years in Fatal Fentanyl Case: Victim Died After $80 Hotel Drug Deal
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas announced that Rene Antonio Melendez, 34, of Laredo, has been sentenced to 252 months (21 years) in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl that resulted in the death of another person. Melendez pleaded guilty on June 29, and U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana imposed the sentence.
On March 11, 2023, law enforcement responded to a hotel in Laredo after receiving a report of an unresponsive man. The victim's friend told authorities the man had consumed a substance known as "White China" and stopped breathing. Authorities recovered a baggie containing fentanyl from the hotel room, and the medical examiner later determined the victim died from acute fentanyl toxicity.
According to the Justice Department, the victim had arranged to purchase $80 worth of drugs through Melendez, who directed him to a location off San Bernardo Avenue. Cellphone records, witness interviews and historical cell-site data established that Melendez was the individual who supplied the victim with the fentanyl. Later that day, Melendez sent the victim a text message asking about the drugs; shortly afterward, the victim's friend called 911 to report the victim was not breathing.
Melendez has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Ann Cortez prosecuted the case, which was investigated as part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：德州 Laredo 市中心 Plaza Theater 一带街景（资料图）。Billy Hathorn 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，取自维基共享资源。Photo: Downtown Laredo, Texas, near the former Plaza Theater (file photo). Billy Hathorn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
