Warner Robins woman sentenced to 25 years for fentanyl distribution
44-year-old Marie Lynn Vasquez of Warner Robins was sentenced February 3, 2026.
WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — A woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to distributing fentanyl, according to the Houston County District Attorney’s Office.
44-year-old Marie Lynn Vasquez of Warner Robins was sentenced February 3, 2026.
According to the district attorney’s office, Vasquez’s codefendant, Clyde Richardson, previously pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl for the same transaction and was sentenced to 25 years in prison on December 12, 2025.
The investigation began following an overdose death in 2023, the news release states.
On June 28, 2023, a 36-year-old Houston County woman was found unresponsive in her bedroom by her mother and appeared to be suffering from a drug overdose. The Houston County Sheriff’s Office and emergency medical services responded to the home, and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the district attorney’s office, investigators secured the scene and the victim’s body was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab for an autopsy, including toxicology testing. The GBI medical examiner determined the woman died from the combined effects of fentanyl, other fentanyl derivatives, heroin, methamphetamine and other narcotics.
The report showed 24 micrograms of fentanyl per liter in her blood, which is a fatal amount.
The district attorney’s office released the following statement:
“Sheriff’s Office investigators downloaded the contents of the victim’s cell phone. Included in her social media accounts were several messages to Clyde Richardson and his girlfriend and partner-in-crime, Marie Lynn Vasquez. The messages demonstrated repeated drug purchases from Richardson and Vasquez by the victim. The messages included a chilling timeline of the final night of the victim’s life, June 27, 2023, in which the victim purchased drugs from the defendants, as well as a CashApp receipt of the transaction.”
While investigators awaited medical documentation from the GBI, authorities learned Richardson and Vasquez continued selling narcotics in Houston County.
According to the news release, investigators with the Warner Robins Police Department Narcotics Intelligence Unit conducted several controlled purchases of fentanyl from Richardson and Vasquez. A search warrant was obtained for their residence in Warner Robins.
During the execution of the search warrant, Vasquez, Richardson and two other individuals were found inside the residence, along with fentanyl packaged for sale.
The news release states that once autopsy and toxicology results were received and digital forensic evidence from cell phones and social media accounts was analyzed, Richardson and Vasquez were indicted on Dec. 12, 2023.
A recent Georgia Supreme Court ruling, combined with the case occurring before the passage of O.C.G.A. § 16-5-3.1 — aggravated involuntary manslaughter for fentanyl overdose deaths, which took effect July 1, 2025 — prevented prosecutors from pursuing homicide charges in the case.
The district attorney’s office released the following statement:
“Houston County—as is the case in most of the Country—has been riddled with drug overdoses in the past three years. In 2023, there were 50 overdose deaths in Houston County, followed by 28 deaths in 2024, and 20 so far in 2025. Since the beginning of 2024, there have been 739 total overdose calls in Houston County, according to data provided by the 911 center. Since the beginning of 2023, law enforcement agencies in Houston County have seized 13,000 grams of fentanyl alone. The United States Drug Enforcement Administration provides that 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be potentially fatal for the average person, meaning that the amount of fentanyl seized in Houston County during this timeframe could kill up to 6.5 million people.”
Senior Assistant District Attorney Mike Smith also released a statement:
“The District Attorney’s Office, along with our brave men and women that work in our partner law enforcement agencies here in Houston County, will remain dedicated to prosecuting those individuals that sell illegal narcotics in our community. The fact that Ms. Vasquez and Mr. Richardson continued to sell illegal narcotics, even after learning of the death of our victim, is especially egregious. We are tired of having the most vulnerable members of our community preyed upon by the dealers that peddle their poisons all to make an easy dollar. No family should have to go through what the family of our victim had to experience. Her life mattered. Everyone who resides and travels through Houston County deserves to experience a life without illegal narcotics, especially fentanyl, being readily available. We appreciate the Court’s sentence as to Ms. Vasquez. This Office and our partner Agencies will remain vigilant in prosecuting drug dealers and preventing future deaths.”
District Attorney Eric Edwards released the following statement:
“This case began with a Houston County citizen found dead from a fentanyl overdose and ended with two dealers held fully accountable for the role they played. The fact that these defendants continued selling fentanyl even after learning of her death underscores the danger they posed to our community. We will always continue to aggressively prosecute fentanyl dealers because lives literally depend on it.”
