Austin fentanyl dealer sentenced to more than 18 years in federal prison

AUSTIN (KXAN) – An Austin man was sentenced to more than 18 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to fentanyl trafficking and possessing a firearm, federal prosecutors announced.

Daltha Ray Terrell, 31, also known as “Goo Ray,” was sentenced to 220 months in federal prison in Austin, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.

Court records show the investigation began on March 24, 2023, when Terrell arrived at a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm and claimed he had been shot by someone else. Officers later searched his vehicle and found about 636 blue pills marked “M-30” and two firearms. Investigators determined Terrell had accidentally shot himself while attempting to remove a firearm from his jacket. The pills later tested positive for fentanyl.

Federal prosecutors said the investigation expanded after Austin police responded to a fatal overdose aboard a CapMetro bus on Dec. 1, 2023. Investigators found fentanyl at the scene and used surveillance video, cellphone evidence and Cash App records to identify Terrell as the victim’s drug dealer. An autopsy determined fentanyl toxicity was the sole cause of death.

A subsequent search of Terrell’s residence uncovered approximately 2,000 suspected fentanyl pills, two handguns, including one equipped with a machine-gun conversion device, as well as a shotgun that had been stolen during a home invasion robbery, prosecutors said.

Authorities determined that Terrell distributed more than 400 grams of fentanyl between June 2023 and his arrest on May 22, 2024. He pleaded guilty Jan. 21, 2026, to distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm in a drug trafficking crime.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Austin Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Gardner prosecuted it.

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