23 Lubbock Drug Traffickers Sentenced to Combined 218 Years in Prison

The final defendant arrested in a large-scale drug and gun bust in Lubbock in July 2023 has been sentenced, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

In total, 23 defendants were sentenced to a combined total of 218 years in federal prison.

The final defendant, Beatrice Eunice Gutierrez, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix to 18 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Thursday.

"Project Safe Neighborhoods is designed to target an areas' most dangerous offenders. Key to the initiative's success are productive partnerships between state, federal, and local law enforcement," said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. "We hope the Lubbock community will feel more at ease knowing these defendants will spend significant time off their streets and behind bars."

Members of the group are linked to at least one fatal overdose. The victim, identified in court documents as T.F., was located in a bedroom surrounded by blue pills later confirmed to contain fentanyl. Defendant Alexus Grubelnik later admitted she delivered the pills to his residence, hiding them under the doormat.

Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized more than 12,354 grams of fentanyl pills, 12,7311 grams of methamphetamine, 4393 grams of heroin, 31 grams of oxycodone, 1.26 grams of cocaine, 35 firearms, and $155,204 in U.S. currency.

Those sentenced include:

• Steven Paul Echols, sentenced to 210 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

• Rachel Michelle Melendez, sentenced to 210 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

• Nicolas Blake Pereida, sentenced to 240 months for distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

• Brent Reed Angelle, sentenced to 188 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

• Alexus Michelle Grubelnik, sentenced to 135 months for distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

• Beatrice Eunice Gutierrez, sentenced to 216 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

• Erik Hans Grosstueck, sentenced to 216 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

• Brian Jacob Miller, sentenced to 70 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

• Alexander Erik Pierce, sentenced to 186 months for distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

• Christian Carlisle Enochs, sentenced to 60 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

• Brannon Mikel Burns, sentenced to 42 months for distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

• Matthew Ryan Chandler, sentenced to 42 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

• Loddy Max Montoya, sentenced to 42 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

• Trey Matthew Parrish, sentenced to 96 months for distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

• Glen Donnell Nall, Jr., sentenced to 135 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

• Anthony Ray Morales, sentenced to 78 months for felon in possession of a firearm

• Ronny Paul Spruiell, sentenced to 210 months for distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

• Kevontae Jalil Hawthorne, sentenced to 48 months for felon in possession of a firearm

• Daniel Anthony Moreno, sentenced to 30 months for felon in possession of a firearm

• Ethan Tyler Nieto, sentenced to 32 months for felon in possession of a firearm

• Martin Rosalez III, aka Wedo, sentenced to 41 months for felon in possession of a firearm

• Roberto Salinas, Jr., sentenced to 27 months for felon in possession of a firearm

• Tevin Terelle Carrington, sentenced to 63 months for felon in possession of a firearm

A number of the defendants were tied to Lubbock's Project Safe Neighborhood zone, a high-crime hotspot where federal, state, and local law enforcement leaders collaborate to reduce violence and increase community safety. Many had extensive criminal histories, including child sexual assault, aggravated assault, burglary, fraud, manufacture and delivery of controlled substances, and unlawful carrying of firearms.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives' Dallas Field Division - Lubbock Resident Agency, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Dallas Field Division - Lubbock Resident Agency, the United States Marshal Service, the Caprock HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) Task Force, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Lubbock Police Department, the Lubbock County Sherriff's Office, and the Texas Anti-Gang Task Force conducted the investigation and arrest operation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Long is prosecuted the case along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Haag, Ann Howey, Callie Woolam, Matt McLeod, and Ryan Redd.

The case is an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) case. The OCDETF program was established in 1982 in order to attack and reduce the supply of illegal drugs entering the United States and to diminish violence and other criminal activity associated with the drug trade. The OCDETF program leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers and drug trafficking networks using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information can be found at