CPS WORKER SENTENCED IN WASHINGTON CO. COURT TO 5 YEARS FOR FENTANYL POSSESSION
A Killeen woman working with Child Protective Services was sentenced today (Friday) in Washington County to 5 years in prison for possessing fentanyl.
41-year-old Keiondra Taylor was sentenced by Judge Carson Campbell after a hearing before the court and without a plea agreement.
Taylor pleaded guilty to Possession of a Controlled Substance in July, and the case was reset for a hearing to determine punishment. She was indicted in August 2022 for Possession with Intent to Deliver 4-200 Grams, a second degree felony that carries a punishment range of 2-20 years’ confinement and up to a $10,000 fine.
According to a release from the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, Taylor was stopped on April 1, 2022 by Brenham Police Sergeant Jimmy Ha, then a corporal. Taylor identified herself as employed by CPS.
Sgt. Ha searched Taylor’s car due to the odor of marijuana and because of Taylor’s admission that someone smoked marijuana in her car earlier. He located a backpack from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services that, according to the DA’s Office, contained over a pound of marijuana and 251 tablets believed to be oxycodone. He also found a notebook identifying prices for marijuana and references to customers and other suspected narcotics.
Sgt. Ha testified regarding his experiences and the evidence located, explaining to the court that Taylor was selling certain strains of marijuana for nearly $3,000 per pound. The Texas DPS Crime Lab identified the tablets not as oxycodone, but fentanyl.
District Attorney Derek Estep highlighted the known dangers of illicit fentanyl during closing argument, pointing to Governor Greg Abbott’s “One Pill Kills” campaign that says nearly half of all drug-poisoning deaths in 2024 were related to fentanyl, and lives lost to fentanyl in Texas increased 600 percent from 2019 to 2023.
Estep said, “251 tablets represent 251 lives potentially saved because Sergeant Ha stopped Ms. Taylor.” Estep further stated that October has been declared Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Month in Texas because of the opioid crisis, and he asked the court to sentence Taylor to prison “not for the person she is, but for what she did.” After the hearing, Estep said, “Thanks to Jimmy, this poison is off the streets. The damage those pills could have done is staggering.”
Estep represented the state at the hearing, while Zach Coufal represented the defendant.
Per the release, Judge Campbell indicated at the time of sentencing that he would consider suspending the sentence and placing Taylor on probation at a later date.
(Mugshot not available from Washington Co. Sheriff's Office)