Man sentenced in El Paso detention center fentanyl death

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- A 46-year-old man received a prison sentence Monday after pleading guilty to murder and manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance in a death that happened at the Downtown El Paso County Detention Center. The 34th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said the sentencing is the first of its kind in West Texas.

A judge sentenced Eric Robles to 18 years in prison for murder and 15 years in prison for manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance. His sentences will run concurrently, the district attorney's office said.

Eric Robles is the first defendant in the region to be sentenced under Texas House Bill 6. HB 6 is a 2023 law that allows murder charges to be filed against those who manufacture, deliver or supply fentanyl that results in a deadly overdose.

Authorities executed a federal arrest warrant on Robles on May 16, 2024, at the Ysleta Port of Entry. He was housed in the same cell block as 49-year-old Jesus Hernandez at the Downtown detention facility.

Hernandez was found dead in the detention facility on May 23, the district attorney's office said. An autopsy revealed a deadly dosage of fentanyl in his system at the time of his death.

Hernandez transferred to a federal detention facility in Sierra Blanca on May 23. The district attorney's office said a package with more than 25 grams of fentanyl was found in Robles' lower bowel that same day.

"Fentanyl continues to be a deadly scourge throughout the nation. Eric Robles chose to distribute a deadly drug for his own benefit, and that choice cost Jesus Hernandez his life,” said District Attorney James Montoya.