KYLE — Jaquell Desean Ray, 18, was sentenced on Feb. 20 to 10 years in prison on a charge of murder in connection with the April 11, 2023, fentanyl overdose death of a 15 year old. Ray was sentenced by the judge of the 483rd District Court after entering a plea of guilty to murder in exchange for an agreement that he serve 10 years in prison.

Following the overdose death in Kyle, the Hays County Sheriff’s Office investigated and determined that Ray had delivered the pills containing fentanyl that caused the death. The investigators determined that Ray knew that he was selling fentanyl, that he was aware of the dangers associated with fentanyl and that he had delivered the fentanyl to the victim the evening before his death, according to a Hays County news release. Ray had also previously been arrested for dealing fentanyl in 2022; he out on bond from the earlier arrest when he sold the fatal dose.

The decision to charge Ray with murder was announced by District Attorney Kelly Higgins shortly after the investigation was completed in June. Ray has been incarcerated in the Hays County Jail since that time.

Higgins emphasized the seriousness of fentanyl and its impact on the lives of young people.

“It takes so little to kill, to destroy the lives not only of the departed but of the survivors,” Higgins said. “This office will do everything within its power to stem the tide of death and loss that Fentanyl brings to our communities. Holding dealers accountable for the deaths they facilitate is one way we can fight back against the horrific fentanyl epidemic devastating our communities.”