Twenty-nine-year-old Jessica Christine Holl of Lubbock was sentenced Friday morning (July 7) to more than 17 years in federal prison for her role in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

Holl pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl.

Co-defendants Sidney Caleb Lanier and Jamie Marie Robertson, both of Lubbock, were both sentenced in June. Following their guilty pleas in February, Lanier was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison and Robertson was sentenced to 4 years.

The defendants have been in custody since their arrest in October 2016 following a law enforcement operation led by Lubbock Police Department and special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration focused on the distribution of the fentanyl in Lubbock.

While fentanyl can serve as a direct substitute for heroin in opioid-dependent individuals, it is a dangerous substitute that's 50 times more potent than heroin and results in frequent overdoses that can lead to respiratory depression and death. Cheaper than heroin, fentanyl can be ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin; just a few milligrams, equivalent to a few grains of table salt, may be deadly.

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