EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — An El Paso man was sentenced to over a dozen years after the fentanyl pills he sold killed one person back in 2021.
According to the United States Department of Justice, Isaiah Rene Acosta, 28, was sentenced to 15 years and six months after he pleaded guilty on November 18, 2025, in a deadly fentanyl deal.
Court documents described that on July 16, 2021, Acosta sold three counterfeit oxycodone M-30 pills with fentanyl, which ended up killing one person the very next day.
According to the investigation, Acosta had sold fentanyl and marijuana to the deceased and a second person tied to the case on other occasions as well.
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Despite the deadly drug deal that happened in 2021, Acosta was not indicted and arrested until February 2025.
Following news of Acosta’s sentencing, Omar Arellano, a special agent in charge of the DEA’s El Paso Division, the law enforcement agency that investigated the case, released a stern warning to drug dealers:
If the drugs you sell kill someone, the DEA will investigate, build a case against you, and see that you face the consequences.
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons, thanked the DEA for successfully closing the case.
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