Bowie County woman sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for fentanyl overdose death

TEXARKANA, Texas - A Texarkana woman who sold multiple fake oxycontin pills containing fentanyl has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison, announced 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 and was sentenced to 204 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III, on August 21, 2024.

According to information presented in court, 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." however, the pills were counterfeits that contained fentanyl. As a result, three people died and one person was seriously injured after using the drugs. Mattison sold the pills that killed one of the overdose victims.

Courtney Lewis was sentenced to 120 months and Darrell "Monty" Trotter was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison for their roles in the conspiracy. Christopher "Candyman" Candelaria and Kolton Saulsbury have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case was investigated by 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. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Locker and Jonathan Hornok.