Man convicted of murder for deadly fentanyl dose, sentenced to 7 years

Jeffrey Allen Heintz

A jury on Friday convicted a 41-year-old man of delivering a fatal dose of fentanyl of murder and sentenced him to seven years in prison.

Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz confirmed Jeffrey Allen Heintz was convicted of murder and in a statement called his sentence disappointing.

Heintz was convicted of delivering the fentanyl to 36-year-old Harlingen resident Travis Burns on Oct. 10, 2023.

He was convicted and sentenced following a week-long trial at the Cameron County Courthouse in Brownsville.

“People complain when they hear what they consider is a low-year sentence verdict, yet when presented with the opportunity they do the same thing,” Saenz said in a statement. “As in this case, even worse, the jury sentenced Heintz who had previously been to the penitentiary twice before, to only 7 years in prison for murdering Travis Burns. This is very disappointing and sends the wrong message to our community and would-be offenders.”

Earlier this month, 45-year-old Brandy Ann Brown Daniels pleaded guilty to murder for delivering a fatal dose of fentanyl to a Los Fresnos woman. She pleaded guilty on Sept. 8 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Brown sold the deadly dose to Jaqueline Barosio, who was found dead on Oct. 21, 2023 in the Cameron County Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center.

Court records indicate Brown had been called as a witness during Heintz’s trial, but a ruling barred the jury from hearing her testimony.

In a hearing outside the presence of the jury, Brown was questioned by defense attorneys regarding why she was not answering questions and instead invoking her Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate herself even though she had already been convicted, according to court documents.

The post Man convicted of murder for deadly fentanyl dose, sentenced to 7 years appeared first on MyRGV.com.