BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — A Boulder man pleaded guilty to two charges and was sentenced in connection with a fentanyl death in the spring of last year.
The Boulder County Drug Task Force (BCDTF) began investigating a fentanyl death in Boulder on April 28, 2022. The victim was not identified.
The BCDTF identified the person who had sold the fentanyl to the victim as Terrelle Lucero, 26, according to the 20th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Officers with the BCDTF set up a "controlled buy of fentanyl" from him on May 26 as part of the investigation, the district attorney's office said.
He was then taken into custody.
During a search of Lucero and his vehicle, officers found a small scale with white residue, a handgun and more than 75 fentanyl pills, the district attorney's office said.
On June 1, 2022, he was charged with possession, possession with intent to distribute, possession of a weapon by a previous offender, two special drug offender charges, introduction of contraband, driving under restraint and manslaughter.
On Thursday, Lucero pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession with intent to manufacture or distribute a controlled substance. As part of that guilty plea, the court sentenced Lucero to nine years total in state prison — four for the manslaughter charge and five for the possession charge. The sentences would run consecutively, according to the district attorney's office.
The family of the victim said they supported the plea and sentence.
"They have been shattered and devastated by the loss of their only son," the district attorney's office said. "They stated to the Court that they were grateful that law enforcement pursued this case and that the sentence imposed by the Court would take a drug dealer off of the streets."
District Attorney Michael Dougherty thanked the drug task force for their work in this case.
"Fentanyl dealers must be held fully accountable for the destruction they inflict," he said. "This sentence does that, but it does not bring back the victim. As a community and as a nation, we must continue working to reduce drug-related deaths."
