A couple from Texas has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after they pleaded guilty to conspiring with a Larose woman to give a Slidell teen drugs that caused his death, prosecutors said.
Carlos Mario Cantu-Cox, 49, and his husband, Christopher Cantu-Cox, 38, both of Pasadena, Texas, pleaded guilty Feb. 4, 2020, to distributing ketamine that led to the death of 18-year-old Vincent Stolese. His body was found floating in a Texas bayou in 2016.
The other woman involved, who administered the drugs to Stolese, was identified as 38-year-old Kacie Doucet. The drug that they gave to Stolese is said to be ketamine. It is a sedative and is commonly a substance used for anaesthesia.
The couple had befriended Stolese soon after he graduated from high school in 2015. They supplied the teen with drugs, and he visited their home and made frequent trips with them to Texas, authorities said. On one of those trips, he got arrested by the authorities.
The Cantu-Coxes had to pay for a portion of Stolese’s bond so that he can be released, police said. They spent a total of $6,000 for the bail, but he later missed his court appearances, and the trio had a falling out. So, they asked Doucet to take hold of him and bring him to Texas to not lose their money, according to court papers.
Doucet then worked with William Harrison Farris and Leilani Aspuria to give the ketamine to Stolese in exchange for free meth. They gave the drugs so that they can transport Stolese to the Cantu-Coxes without any problem. Doucet contacted Stolese and suggested they meet for a “sexual encounter,” reports said. Farris and Doucet then contacted Aspuria, who has a car, for the transportation, U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans said.
After Doucet, Farris, and Aspuria delivered Stolese to the Cantu-Coxes in New Orleans, they placed him in their car and drove home to Texas. When they were already at the Louisiana-Texas border, they realized that Stolese was not breathing anymore, Evans said. They still drove to their home in Pasadena and left the body of Stolese in the car as it was still early in the day.
At night, they went out and drove to a bridge where they dumped the body of Stolese. Stolese’s body was found floating in a bayou in Texas in the year 2016.
Though the couple pleaded guilty in 2020, the sentencing took place just recently. Aside from the imprisonment, United States District Judge Wendy B. Vitter added that they need supervision for the next five years after they are released.
