Two months into sentence for fentanyl death, Tomball man being considered for parole

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Two months after being sentenced to six years in prison for causing a co-worker's fentanyl death, a Tomball man is now being considered for parole.

Tomball fentanyl death: Parole considered months into sentence

What we know:

On May 15, 28-year-old Eric Sembera pleaded guilty to delivery of a controlled substance causing death. 

Sembera was originally charged with fentanyl murder in 2024 after admitting to giving a bump to his coworker, Erica Russell. He was still facing 20 years for the lesser charge, but was sentenced to six years.

"At first, we were like, ‘At least he got something,’ because we were basically told they couldn't go after him for murder because they couldn't get into our daughter's phone," said Russell's stepmom, Cassandra.

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On July 22, a little more than two months after Sembera's sentence, Cassandra gets a letter saying Sembera is being considered for parole. He is supposed to serve at least eight months in prison before being paroled.

"The reason why he's eligible for parole so quickly [is because] there's no deadly weapon finding on the judgment," said Andy Kahan, Victim Advocacy Director for Crime Stoppers of Houston.

‘We just want the nightmare to be over’

What they're saying:

"I was devastated. Why would it be so soon?" said Cassandra. "It doesn't make any sense."

Cassandra says the six-year sentence didn't feel like enough justice for her stepdaughter, but the family accepted it.

"We just want the nightmare to be over. The part that we have to continuously do this over and over again, tell this story to people to get them to listen to us. We're tired of bringing up the stuff about him. We want to be able to grieve our daughter in peace, period. That's it."

What's next:

Sembera could be placed on community supervision in January, but Cassandra says she vows to fight that decision.