A Texarkana woman has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for selling fake oxycontin pills containing fentanyl, as announced by Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs. Nickie Jo Mattison, also known as Nickie Hall, 34, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. She was sentenced to 204 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III on August 21, 2024.
Court documents revealed that between September 2021 and August 2022, Mattison conspired with at least three others to distribute fentanyl. Mattison and her co-conspirators distributed thousands of blue pills stamped to mimic 30mg oxycontin pills, known on the streets as "M-30s." These pills were counterfeits containing fentanyl, leading to the deaths of three people and seriously injuring one person. Mattison was responsible for selling the pills that resulted in one of the overdose deaths.
Courtney Lewis was sentenced to 120 months, and Darrell “Monty” Trotter received a 168-month sentence in federal prison for their roles in the conspiracy. Christopher “Candyman” Candelaria and Kolton Saulsbury have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation, which targets high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States. The investigation involved the Texarkana Texas Police Department, the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Locker and Jonathan Hornok.
