{"id":393108,"date":"2026-07-31T06:00:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T06:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/393108\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T06:00:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T06:00:27","slug":"cash-guns-and-fentanyl-dallas-drug-dealer-operating-out-of-local-motel-gets-25-year-sentence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/393108\/","title":{"rendered":"Cash, guns and fentanyl: Dallas drug dealer operating out of local motel gets 25-year sentence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal prosecutors are sending a stark warning to North Texas drug dealers: Earnest Ray Miller just got 25 years after his Dallas motel operation was leveled.<\/p>\n

DALLAS \u2014 A Dallas man dubbed a notorious drug dealer has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after operating a fentanyl distribution business out of a hotel near Dallas Love Field<\/a>, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.<\/p>\n

Earnest Ray Miller, 54, also known as \u201cQ,\u201d was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison on July 24 on drug and gun charges, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.<\/p>\n


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\n This story continues below. <\/p>\n

Miller, a multi-convicted felon, ran his drug distribution operation out of the Cole Manor Motel, formerly located at 7002 Harry Hines Boulevard. Law enforcement officials noted the motel had become a hub for drug trafficking, violent crime, and prostitution.<\/p>\n

In June, authorities demolished the motel following the federal criminal investigation and a criminal nuisance lawsuit filed by the City of Dallas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis defendant contributed to the fentanyl crisis by running a distribution network primarily out of the Cole Manor Hotel,\u201d Raybould said. \u201cLet this 25-year sentence serve notice to anyone who thinks they can profit from selling this poison to Texans on my watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to court documents, Drug Enforcement Administration agents began investigating drug dealing activity at the motel in December 2024. Miller admitted he used multiple rooms at the motel to cut, package, and distribute quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, marijuana, and other controlled substances daily. Rooms sometimes even had “rules” posted inside for customers to follow.<\/p>\n

Miller also admitted the motel was a site where individuals habitually engaged in unlawful firearm possession, assaults, prostitution, and other crimes.<\/p>\n

During a search warrant execution on Feb. 19, 2025, law enforcement agents recovered digital scales, baggies, multiple firearms, $19,372 in drug proceeds, and distribution quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine from one of Miller\u2019s rooms.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

In October 2025, Miller pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance (fentanyl) and one count of possessing a firearm by a convicted felon.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrug trafficking and its frequent companion, drug-related violence, threaten the health and safety of every single one of us,\u201d said Joseph B. Tucker, Special Agent in Charge of DEA\u2019s Dallas Field Division. \u201cMr. Miller\u2019s sentence of 25 years holds him directly responsible for his intended actions and has undoubtedly saved lives, with a weapon off the streets and drugs that will never find a life to destroy.\u201d<\/p>\n

United States Federal District Judge Karen Gren Scholer handed down the 25-year sentence. The investigation was conducted by the DEA Dallas Division and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Federal prosecutors are sending a stark warning to North Texas drug dealers: Earnest Ray Miller just got 25…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393109,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":["post-393108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}