Fentanyl dealer sentenced to 30 years in prison by Collin County jury

A man Allen prosecutors described as a fentanyl dealer linked to a fatal overdose was sentenced to 30 years in prison last week, according to the Collin County district attorney.

Denzel Joseph Johnson, 30, was found guilty of possession with intent to deliver between four and 200 grams of fentanyl by a jury, Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said in a social media post. In December 2022, Johnson was arrested at a McKinney gas station and police found a firearm, $7,000 in cash and 60 fentanyl pills disguised as Percocet, the post said.

Allen police had also arrested Johnson three times in 2022 for fentanyl-related offenses, according to the post. One of those arrests was in October 2022 when drugs Johnson was selling were linked to the death of a 27-year-old man, the post said.

Details from that case and other fentanyl-related arrests were given to the jury during the penalty phase of the trial, prosecutors said.

“Fentanyl dealers are making death,” Willis said in the post. “Johnson did this in October 2022, and despite the consequences, he didn't stop. Thankfully, law enforcement stepped in and likely saved another life by arresting him again in December. My office will continue to seek stiff prison sentences for anyone who sells fentanyl.”

According to the post, Johnson continued to do drugs after he was arrested in 2022 and got out of prison.

Johnson's attorney did not respond to a phone message seeking comment.