A Fort Bliss soldier was sentenced to eight years in prison last week for giving fentanyl to another person who died from the synthetic drug, according to court records from the Texas Army base. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
A Fort Bliss soldier was sentenced to eight years in prison for giving fentanyl to another person who died from the synthetic drug, according to court records from the Texas Army base.
Spc. Francisco Cardenas, 26, pleaded guilty to negligent homicide Feb. 27 for the death that occurred March 28, 2022. Fort Bliss redacted the name of the victim from the court document.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and about 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In his court-martial, Cardenas also pleaded guilty to willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, wrongful possession with intent to distribute and wrongful distribution of fentanyl, wrongful introduction with intent to distribute fentanyl, wrongful use of fentanyl, wrongful possession of dimethyltryptamine, and wrongful possession of a firearm while also possessing illegal drugs, according to Army court records.
In addition to prison, Cardenas’s sentence included a demotion in rank to the grade of E-1, forfeit of all pay and allowances and a dishonorable discharge from the service.
The sentence was consistent with the terms of a plea agreement, according to the court records. Cardenas also had been charged with murder and with using cocaine.
Cardenas enlisted in January 2020 and was assigned to Fort Bliss’s 1st Armored Division. He has been in pretrial confinement since Sept. 9, according to his charge sheet.
The Pentagon released data last month to Congress on service member overdoses, which revealed fentanyl was involved in 88% of deaths in 2021 of service members who overdosed on illicit drugs.
Five years earlier, the synthetic drug was involved in 36% of troop overdose deaths, according to Pentagon data.
From 2017 to 2021, Fort Bliss lost 13 soldiers to overdose deaths — the third highest among Army installations. At Fort Bragg, N.C., 31 soldiers died and 16 died at Fort Hood, Texas, according to the data.
