Evergreen Reporter

Paul Alejandro Felix, a 25-year-old resident of Glendale, California, has been sentenced to over 13 years in prison for his involvement in a large-scale narcotics trafficking conspiracy. The operation distributed fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills across the United States, including the District of Columbia. Felix was among approximately 24 co-defendants arrested and charged in various locations such as D.C., Virginia, Maryland, San Diego, and Los Angeles throughout 2023.

The announcement of the sentence came from U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, DEA Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the DEA Washington Division, Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Felix pleaded guilty on July 1, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl. In addition to his prison term, he will serve five years under supervised release as ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

Court documents reveal that Felix operated as an upstream supplier based in Los Angeles for other traffickers in the area and provided bulk quantities of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills to distributors based in D.C. He sold these pills by the thousands at prices often below a dollar each. Evidence gathered through communications and physical seizures showed that Felix transferred tens of thousands of these pills to downstream traffickers.

On November 16, 2023, law enforcement officials arrested Felix at his home in Glendale where they found a Sig Sauer 9mm semi-automatic handgun loaded with seven rounds along with additional ammunition and firearm magazines. Felix admitted possession of the weapon for protection purposes. During their investigation, authorities also obtained numerous photographs from Felix’s Instagram account showing firearms and bulk cash.

The prosecutions were part of a joint investigation involving multiple agencies including the DEA Washington Division and USPIS Washington Division alongside partners like the Metropolitan Police Department and ATF with support from several other federal offices across California and Maryland.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Kinskey, Solomon S. Eppel, and Iris McCranie from the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section are prosecuting this case.