Fentanyl distribution arrest in Crosby, parents of victim raise awareness on the drug

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A man from Crosby has been arrested for distributing fentanyl that allegedly killed two people and left a third person with serious bodily injury. 

On Wednesday, 24-year-old Joshua Stebelton made his initial appearance in federal court.

FOX 26 spoke with a family who lost their son due to the dangerous drug and is now advocating and raising awareness of how deadly fentanyl is. 

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Although Stebelton is not connected to the death of Teresa Poole's son, Jovan Cortez-Ortiz, we spoke with her about the impact fentanyl is having on the community.

April 2 marked seven months since the date her son Jovan died.

"The drug itself is scary you don’t know what’s in. It’s laced on almost anything and everything," Poole said.

Cortez-Ortiz died on Sept. 2 and his mother told FOX 26 a lot about what was said about her son, which falsely claimed he was a drug addict.

"It wasn’t an overdose. He died from poisoning, he thought he was getting something else and that’s all it took was that one pill," Poole said.

Poole also clarified that her son was not in rehab for drugs, but she knew he was battling depression and suicidal thoughts, so the family did what's best and took him to rehab.

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Cortez-Ortiz died a day after a new state fentanyl law went into effect, which allows authorities to charge fentanyl dealers and distributors with murder if it leads to death. 

"It won’t bring our children back or our sisters, or our brothers, or our husbands, or our loved ones, it won’t bring them back, but they deserve justice," Poole said.

Michael Poole is Cortez-Ortiz's stepfather, and he said the new law will raise fear in those who sell fentanyl. 

"I think it will definitely scare them off from doing it knowing that it’s not just intent to distribute or selling of drugs. You can get up to life in prison. It’s murder," Poole said. 

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Teresa Poole said there's not a day that goes by when she doesn't remember her son and would like to have him alive but is thankful that through her and her son's story, she is able to raise awareness of the seriousness of the drug on TikTok.

"He [Jovan] won’t just be another death from this drug. I’ll make sure that everyone knows his name, everyone knows his face, everyone knows his story, and everyone will know how much he was loved," Poole said.

Court documents show that Stebelton had been arrested for possession of marijuana in 2018 and pleaded guilty and had to pay a fine.