El Paso drug dealer gets 24 years in prison for pair of cocaine overdose deaths

Daniel Borunda
El Paso Times

A convicted El Paso drug dealer was sentenced Monday to more than 24 years in federal prison in the cocaine overdose deaths of two people five years ago, authorities said.

Paris Lamont Dennis, 39, had pleaded guilty in February to a one count of distribution of a controlled substance causing serious bodily injury, said the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas.

Dennis was convicted of selling cocaine that killed two people — identified in court documents only as R.O. and M.O. — in an what a medical examiner determined were accidental overdoses on Nov. 18, 2017, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

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Dennis, known by the moniker of "Bama," was an admitted drug dealer who sold cocaine to various people, according to a criminal complaint filed by an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

"The drugs Mr. Dennis distributed killed two young El Pasoans, and (on Monday) he learned his punishment. Others who insist on peddling drugs to members of the community should take notice," El Paso DEA Special Agent in Charge Greg Millard said in a statement.

DEA agents didn't arrest Dennis until nearly two years after the deadly overdoses, according to El Paso County Jail and court documents.

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On the night of April 3, 2019, a DEA Special Response Team executed a search warrant on Dennis' home after learning he was in possession of a firearm, a criminal complaint stated.

Dennis wasn't allowed to have firearms because he is a convicted felon having been arrested by El Paso police on assault and other charges dating back to 2010, documents show.

DEA agents found a revolver inside a bedroom dresser drawer as well as 7 grams of cocaine and a marijuana cigarette, documents state.

Nation:More than 107,000 Americans died from overdoses last year. This drug is behind most deaths.

Dennis allegedly told agents that the gun belonged to him and admitted that he was a drug dealer who sold cocaine to his customers, the complaint states.

Dennis told investigators that he "would not identify the cocaine source of supply because he was not a 'snitch,' " the complaint notes.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said that Dennis was responsible for suppling the cocaine in the fatal overdoses in a fatal case investigated by El Paso police and the DEA.

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U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Ashely C. Hoff said in a statement: "Drug overdose deaths are at a record high. Our office will continue to pursue and hold accountable those responsible for distributing controlled substances resulting in injuries and deaths."

Daniel Borunda may be reached at 915-546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.