Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
TYLER, Texas – A Longview man who sold fake prescription drugs has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Kym Andrew Wallace, also known as Trigga, 28, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl resulting in death and was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle on July 30, 2025.
According to information presented in court, Wallace admitted to selling what were supposed to be prescription pills, which a 17-year-old juvenile consumed them and died from a fentanyl overdose on May 29, 2024. Following the overdose of the juvenile victim, investigators analyzed pills purchased from Wallace and determined they contained fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid commonly used as an analgesic or anesthetic that is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The pills purchased from Wallace were round and light blue, bearing the markings “M” and “30,” which are the same manufacturer’s markings for 30 milligram tablets of generic oxycodone.
“Thirty years in a federal prison cannot compare to the lifetime sentence of grief that the victim’s family faces as the result of Wallace’s actions,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs. “Wallace deserves every day of this 360-month sentence. Our office, and our law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively work to protect our communities from drug traffickers like Wallace.”
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Gregg County Sheriff’s Office; and Longview Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucas Machicek.
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