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A Texas Tech University professor and two co-conspirators have been federally charged in a fentanyl distribution scheme, U.S. attorneys said in a statement Friday.
Fifty-year-old Daniel Taylor, a professor of marketing and supply chain management at the university’s Rawls College of Business, faces a charge of conspiracy to distribute or possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, according to the statement.
Also charged are 21-year-old Alisha Red-Eagle and 28-year-old Mackenzie Gilcrease.
Taylor is accused of distributing two variations of the drug, one called “Pink Flamingo” and the other called “Ghost,” and has been under investigation for drug activity over the last several months, according to the complaint.
On Jan. 12, Red-Eagle was seen entering and exiting Taylor’s vehicle at a Lubbock convenience store, then entering another vehicle that left the location.
When Lubbock police stopped that vehicle for a traffic violation, officers found that a passenger in the back seat was overdosing on the fentanyl supplied by Red-Eagle. Emergency medical personnel administered Narcan to that person.
During a search of the vehicle, police found five fentanyl pills, baggies and aluminum foil wrappers containing the drug, according to the statement.
On Feb. 17, Gilcrease was seen entering Taylor’s apartment and later leaving in a pickup truck. A Lubbock County sheriff’s deputy stopped the pickup truck for a traffic violation, and a K-9 alerted to the odor of narcotics in the vehicle, according to the complaint.
When deputies searched the truck, they found three pink plastic baggies of fentanyl inside a pink envelope that contained a pink flamingo graphic. They also found a pink plastic baggie containing methamphetamine.
Just after midnight on Feb. 18, law enforcement searched Taylor’s home and found “multiple quantities of white powder and a crystal-like substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, along with pink envelopes, plastic baggies with pink flamingo stickers, and baggies containing a ghost graphic,” according to the statement.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.
“Instead of focusing on teaching students supply chain management, the defendant, as alleged, was developing and implementing his own supply chain of lethal fentanyl into the streets of Lubbock,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said. “We hope the students of Texas Tech and the Lubbock community understand that my office will vigorously prosecute drug dealers and drug traffickers no matter if you are a professor or a street level dealer.”
The Star-Telegram has reached out to Texas Tech officials for comment.
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Lillie Davidson is a breaking news reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She graduated from TCU in 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, is fluent in Spanish, and can complete a crossword in five minutes.