Drug dealer’s ‘partner-in-crime’ sentenced in Houston County overdose death
A Warner Robins woman who participated in fentanyl sales that led to a fatal overdose was recently sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Marie Lynn Vasquez, the girlfriend and “partner-in crime” of Clyde Richardson, was sentenced Feb. 3 in connection with supplying fentanyl to a Warner Robins woman who later died of an overdose in 2023, Houston County District Attorney Eric Edwards said in a news release Monday.
Both Richardson and Vasquez pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl and will serve 25 years in prison.
“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,” Edwards said. “The fact that these defendants continued selling fentanyl even after learning of her death underscores the danger they posed to our community.”
How Houston County DA prosecuted Richardson, Vasquez
The woman died in 2023 from the combined effects of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and other narcotics, the district attorney said. While investigating the victim’s phone records, officials found Vasquez and Richardson had conducted various drug transactions, including one that occurred the day before the woman’s death.
Officials also found that both were still selling narcotics in the county. The Warner Robins Police Department’s Narcotics Intelligence Unit bought fentanyl from Vasquez and Richardson before they obtained a search warrant for their residence in the 300 block of Somerset Drive , Edwards said.
Officials found fentanyl being packaged for sale, the district attorney said.
Though Edward intended to charge them both with homicide, he opted instead for distribution of fentanyl and other drug related charges.
A law relating to involuntary manslaughter for fentanyl overdose deaths hadn’t passed by the time they were indicted. Gov. Brian Kemp eventually passed it in 2024 — it went into effect on July 5, 2025 — with those convicted facing up to 30 years in prison, according to Georgia law.
“Houston County — as is the case in most of the country — has been riddled with drug overdoses in the past three years,” Edwards said. “In 2023, there were 50 overdose deaths in Houston County, followed by 28 deaths in 2024, and 20 so far in 2025.”
