TXARKANA, Texas – A Texarkana woman who sold counterfeit oxycontin tablets laced with fentanyl has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison, according to Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.
On August 21, 2024, U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III sentenced Nickie Jo Mattison, also known as Nickie Hall, 34, to 204 months in federal prison after she pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
According to prosecution documents, Mattison plotted with at least three persons to distribute fentanyl between September 2021 and August 2022. Mattison and her accomplices distributed thousands of blue tablets imprinted to resemble 30mg oxycontin pills, known on the streets as “M-30s.” However, the pills were counterfeit and contained fentanyl. Three persons died as a result of utilizing the medications, and one was critically injured. Mattison sold the medications that caused one of the overdose deaths.
Courtney Lewis was sentenced to 120 months and Darrell “Monty” Trotter to 168 months in federal prison for their roles in the plot. Christopher “Candyman” Candelaria and Kolton Saulsbury have pled guilty and are awaiting sentence.
This attempt is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF employs a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most powerful criminal organizations that pose a threat to the United States. Additional information on the OCDETF Program is available at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The Texarkana Texas Police Department, the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Postal Inspection Service all conducted investigations into the matter. Ryan Locker and Jonathan Hornok, Assistant United States Attorneys, prosecuted the case.