Fentanyl Dealer Sentenced to 25 Years in Case That Began With a Mother’s Discovery

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. – Nearly two years after a Houston County mother found her daughter unresponsive in a bedroom, the case that followed has ended with a 25-year prison sentence tied directly to the county’s ongoing fentanyl crisis.

On December 8, 2025, Clyde Laval Richardson Jr., 42, pled guilty in Houston County Superior Court to one count of Distribution of Fentanyl. Four days later, Judge G.E. “Bo” Adams sentenced Richardson to serve 25 years in prison.

A codefendant, Marie Lynn Vasquez, also pled guilty to Distribution of Fentanyl for the same transaction and is awaiting sentencing.

The investigation began on the morning of June 28, 2023, when a 36-year-old Houston County woman was discovered unresponsive in her bedroom by her mother. Houston County Sheriff’s Office deputies and EMS responded to the home, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sheriff’s investigators took over the case, and the victim’s body was sent to the GBI Crime Lab for a full autopsy and toxicology testing. The GBI Medical Examiner later determined the cause of death was the combined effects of fentanyl, fentanyl derivatives, heroin, methamphetamine, and other narcotics. Toxicology revealed 24 micrograms of fentanyl per liter of blood, an amount considered fatal.

As detectives worked to retrace the victim’s final hours, they analyzed her cell phone and social media accounts. Messages revealed repeated drug purchases from Richardson and Vasquez, whom investigators described as partners. The communications included a detailed timeline from the victim’s last night on June 27, 2023, documenting the drug purchase that preceded her death. Investigators also recovered a CashApp receipt confirming the transaction.

While investigators awaited official medical documentation from the GBI, law enforcement learned that Richardson and Vasquez were continuing to sell fentanyl in Houston County. The Warner Robins Police Department, working alongside the Houston County Sheriff’s Office and the Perry Police Department, launched a parallel narcotics investigation.

Detectives with the Warner Robins Police Department Narcotics Intelligence Unit conducted several controlled buys of fentanyl from the pair. That investigation led to a search warrant for their residence at 332 Somerset Drive in Warner Robins.

When officers executed the warrant, they found Richardson, Vasquez, and two additional individuals inside the home. Investigators also located fentanyl packaged for sale.

After receiving the final autopsy and toxicology reports and completing digital forensic analysis, Richardson and Vasquez were indicted on December 12, 2023.

Prosecutors said a recent Georgia Supreme Court ruling, along with the fact that the case predated the aggravated involuntary manslaughter statute for fentanyl overdose deaths that took effect July 1, 2025, prevented the state from pursuing homicide charges in this case.

Officials say the sentence comes amid a devastating overdose crisis in Houston County. In 2023, the county recorded 50 overdose deaths. That number dropped to 28 in 2024, with 20 deaths already reported in 2025. Since the beginning of 2024, 911 centers have logged 739 overdose-related calls. Since 2023, law enforcement agencies in the county have seized more than 13,000 grams of fentanyl.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, as little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal. Authorities say the amount seized locally during this period carried the potential to kill up to 6.5 million people.

The Houston Circuit District Attorney’s Office credited the successful prosecution to collaboration between agencies. Investigators Shane Broome and Christopher Ross of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, along with Marcus Baker of the Warner Robins Police Department, served in lead investigative roles. The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Mike Smith.