LUBBOCK, Texas – A former Texas Tech University assistant professor has pleaded guilty in federal court to leading a fentanyl distribution conspiracy that authorities say used his expertise in supply chain management to operate a sophisticated drug trafficking network responsible for multiple overdoses.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas announced that 51-year-old Daniel Taylor of Lubbock pleaded guilty on July 1 to conspiracy to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl.
Taylor was charged in February 2026 and remains in federal custody awaiting sentencing before U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix. He faces up to 40 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $5 million…