The case centered on the 2024 death of 24-year-old restaurant worker Erica Russell.
TOMBALL, Texas — A Harris County judge sentenced Eric Sembera to six years in prison Friday after he admitted delivering fentanyl to a coworker who later died from the drug, according to court records.
The plea ended a case that began after Erica Russell, 24, failed to show up for work at Pecos Grilling Co. in Tomball. Police conducted a welfare check at her apartment on Aug. 4, 2024, and found her dead. Medical findings later identified acute fentanyl toxicity as the cause.
Court records say Russell had been with Sembera, then her manager, and another friend two nights before her body was found. The group left work and headed to Little Woodrow’s in Tomball. During the trip, investigators said, Sembera offered Russell powder from a small bag. He later told police the substance was pure fentanyl.
The complaint says Russell became unresponsive at her apartment later that night. Sembera took her to a hospital for treatment, but he told detectives they left the emergency room after Russell asked to leave. He then drove her back to her apartment. She was found dead the following day.
Police said they found fentanyl paraphernalia inside Sembera’s vehicle during the investigation. Sembera also told officers he had smoked fentanyl for years, spent about $1,500 a month on it and used several oxycodone pills each day, according to the complaint.
The sentence comes as Texas courts continue handling fatal fentanyl cases under tougher state laws passed during the drug’s rapid rise. State health data shows fentanyl-related deaths climbed from 317 in 2019 to more than 2,300 in 2023, then fell in preliminary counts for the next two years.
Sembera was listed in custody at the Harris County Jail after the sentencing. No further trial is expected because of the guilty plea, and the six-year prison term is the main criminal penalty in Russell’s death.
Author note: Last updated May 17, 2026.