A 25-year-old Tortosa woman was sentenced to nearly 22 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy connected to the fatal overdose of a 16-year-old Texas girl.

Pamela Esquivias was sentenced Sept. 17 to nearly 22 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.

According to information presented in court, a 16-year-old girl died in Flower Mound, Texas, in August 2023 after ingesting counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.

The investigation into the girl’s death identified Esquivias as a source of fentanyl, according to federal prosecutors. Investigators determined she distributed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl tablets from Arizona to multiple states, including Texas.

A second defendant in the federal fentanyl case, Aaron Jay Perez, 29, of Dallas, also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge. He was sentenced Sept. 17 to 10 years in federal prison. Prosecutors said he served as a local distributor in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and trafficked fentanyl, marijuana and cocaine.

Esquivias was previously arrested in Maricopa in December 2023 in an unrelated case. According to a probable cause statement, she was accused of assaulting her sister and possessing a stolen firearm. She was booked on suspicion of aggravated assault, domestic violence, possession of a stolen firearm, disorderly conduct and an outstanding warrant.