The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office announced that 24-year-old Ariel Harris Vargas was found guilty by a jury of possession with intent to deliver fentanyl. Vargas was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
On May 10, 2022, Saginaw Police officers executing an arrest on Vargas for an outstanding felony warrant discovered fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, and THC products at his residence. The original warrant stemmed from allegations that Vargas delivered fentanyl to 19-year-old Valerie Vineyard, who died of an overdose in May 2021. Vineyard reportedly believed she was taking Percocet, a prescription painkiller containing oxycodone.
The case was prosecuted by Michael Ferry and Melinda Hogan, with assistance from DA Investigator Sean Wheetley. Saginaw Police conducted the investigation, and Grapevine Police arrested Vargas on June 8, 2023, for the drug charges.
Vargas is also facing an indictment in Dallas County for the August 2020 murder of Kaleb Simpson, who was fatally shot in a parking lot at a North Lake Highlands apartment complex. Vargas was arrested for that case in January 2024, and it remains pending.
