Colorado fentanyl dealer sentenced in Texas to 20 years in federal prison following ICE El Paso investigation

ALPINE, Texas — A Colorado man was sentenced in a federal court May 27 in Alpine to 240 months in prison for distributing fentanyl to a Texas resident as a result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Texas Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigations Division, the Alpine Police Department, Brewster County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service assisted with the case.

“Fentanyl dealers trade in death,” said Jason T. Stevens, special agent in charge of HSI El Paso. “This sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime and Homeland Security Investigations’ commitment to ensure they face severe consequences.”

According to court documents, Douglas Christopher Steele, 54, of Denver, engaged in a text message conversation with a man living in Alpine on Jan. 29, 2024. Steele agreed to mail 20 fentanyl pills to the man’s work address. Steele notified the man that he’d mailed the package of fentanyl on Feb. 2, 2024, and on Feb. 5, 2024, the man’s co-worker received the FedEx delivery. Through additional text message exchanges, Steele and the man discussed the strength of the fentanyl, and just after midnight on Feb. 6, 2024, the man messaged Steele telling him that he nearly overdosed. Later that morning, the man was found unresponsive in the restroom at his place of work. He was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

An HSI and DPS investigation revealed the envelopes at the man’s residence had been mailed from Steele’s Colorado residence, and eventually the cell phone messages between the man and Steele.

Steele was indicted on May 9, 2024, in Pecos, Texas, for two counts related to distributing fentanyl and was arrested May 11 in Denver. He pleaded guilty Nov. 18, 2024.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Greenbaum prosecuted the case.