On Friday, Harris County, Texas, announced that murder charges have now been brought against two people in connection with fentanyl overdose deaths.
According to the Houston Chronicle, a new law that took effect in September allowed prosecutors to charge drug dealers with first-degree murder if their drugs kill someone, and carries a penalty of five to 99 years in prison.
In early 2023, Harris County established a task force in conjunction with the local Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to target fentanyl dealers. 14 cases are currently being prosecuted, with Michael Barnett and Omarion Bailey being charged with murder.
Barnett is accused of providing fellow inmate, Christian Rayo, in the county jail with a lethal dose of Fentynol, ABC 13 reports. Bailey is charged in the death of 16-year-old Cooper Root after he died in September after allegedly taking fentanyl supplied by Bailey.
“Fentanyl right now continues to be the biggest threat in our country,” Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Houston Field Division, Daniel Comeaux said in a press conference Friday.
"You have individuals who think they’re taking an Adderall to study longer for an exam possibly,” he noted. "Instead, they get a pill that’s laced with fentanyl, and they die immediately.”
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg added, "Taking drugs is not a death penalty offense, and it shouldn’t be." She said, "We’re seeing people die by the hundreds, even the thousands.”
In a post on X, Texas Governor Greg Abbot reacted to the news of the two men being charged with murder. "This is excellent," he said.
"I signed a law allowing murder charges against criminals who push this deadly drug," the governor noted. "Time to wipe this drug off our streets."
Special agent Comeaux noted that there have been over 1 million lethal doses of synthetic opioids seized by their office this year and that seizures are currently up since the beginning of 2024.
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