A guard tower and razor wire at a prison in Texas. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
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DENISON, Texas – A Denison man has been sentenced to life in federal prison for supplying a fatal dose of fentanyl-laced pills to a 20-year-old woman, then recording video of her as she spent hours dying of an overdose.
Life sentence for lethal dose
Andrew Michael Smith, 36, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant following a federal trial conviction for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl resulting in death.
The case stems from the Sept. 5, 2024, death of Macie Joe Chastain, who was found unconscious at a home in the Perrin Estates neighborhood of Denison. First responders attempted lifesaving measures, but Chastain died at the scene. The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled her cause of death as multidrug toxicity from methamphetamine and fentanyl.
The backstory:
Federal prosecutors revealed a harrowing timeline during court proceedings. Smith provided the lethal drugs to Chastain, but instead of seeking help when she began exhibiting severe signs of respiratory distress, tremors, and vomiting, he used his phone to record her for several hours.
While Chastain was actively dying, Smith talked to multiple people and even continued to arrange additional drug transactions. Investigators noted that Smith only contacted emergency responders after Chastain had taken her final breath.
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What they’re saying:
“Smith targeted this victim because he knew her addiction made her vulnerable,” said U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs for the Eastern District of Texas. “Smith deserves every day of this life sentence.”
The investigation originally began as a local case. When police arrested Smith in November 2024, it marked the first-ever fentanyl murder arrest in Grayson County under a Texas law that went into effect in late 2023, which allows individuals to be charged with murder for supplying lethal doses of fentanyl. The case was later moved to federal court.
The criminal investigation was conducted jointly by the FBI and the Denison Police Department, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Erlandson and Abe McGlothin Jr. prosecuted the case.
Denison, Texas is about 73 miles north of Dallas, one mile south of the Texas–Oklahoma border.
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