Two El Paso women convicted of poisoning death of 19-year-old

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Two El Paso women have been convicted for their roles in the fentanyl poisoning death of a 19-year-old single mother, the Western District of Texas Attorney’s Office announced in a news release Thursday, June 27.

According to court documents, 32-year-old Kathy Lee Nicole Bradford coordinated the sale of M-30 pills to a woman in El Paso in April 2022.

On Bradford’s behalf, co-defendant Patricia Tafoya, 40, delivered 10 counterfeit M-30 pills containing fentanyl to the buyer, who ingested some of the pills and, as the El Paso County coroner’s office determined, died of “acute fentanyl toxicity,” the news release said.

Bradford admitted in March that she knew the pills contained fentanyl and pleaded guilty to distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death or serious bodily injury, the release said. She was sentenced to 168 months in a federal prison.

Tafoya pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to resell, the release said. She was sentenced to 21 months in prison and placed in a drug treatment program.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigated the case.