Azle teen becomes first person in Tarrant County convicted of murder for dealing fentanyl
BEDFORD, Texas - A 19-year-old Azle man is now the first person in Tarrant County convicted of murder for dealing fentanyl.
Kaeden Farish will serve prison time for the death of 17-year-old Dustin Anderton in Bedford earlier this year.
Prosecutors have begun using the new law to target fentanyl dealers, and there are signs it — and other measures — might be having an effect in the fight against fentanyl.
State data shows Texas is seeing a decline in fentanyl-related deaths, matching the national trends. However, the problem is far from gone.
Prosecutors say 19-year-old Kaeden Farish is now the first person in Tarrant County to be convicted of murder for dealing fentanyl leading to an overdose death.
Kaeden Farish (Tarrant County Jail)
"My office just used a new fentanyl murder law and sent a defendant to prison for dealing a deadly dose of fentanyl," said Tarrant County DA Phil Sorrells.
The new law went into effect last fall. It allows prosecutors to charge individuals with murder if they make or deal fentanyl that causes death.
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Farish pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 19 years in prison.
"Fentanyl overdoses are unfortunately all too common," said Bedford Police Chief Bobby Lapenna. "Unfortunately, people don’t know what they’re ingesting whenever they take the drug."
Bedford police charged Farish after 17-year-old Dustin Anderton overdosed and died from fentanyl-laced pills while inside a home on January 20.
Dustin Anderton (Family Photo)
"I don’t think anyone would intentionally take a lethal amount of fentanyl, knowingly," Lapenna said.
The chief of police points out that for detectives pursuing an overdose murder charge, there’s a greater threshold of necessary evidence to make the case stick in court.
"The work that they put in and the effort and time that they put into a case like this goes well beyond your normal narcotics investigation," Lapenna said.
Texas Department of State Health Services data shows a steadily rapid increase in fentanyl poisoning deaths throughout the past decade.
In 2014, Texas reported 79 fentanyl poisoning-related deaths. That was only 3.7% of all drug poisoning deaths.
But in 2023, there were more than 2,300 deaths, approaching half of all drug poisoning deaths.
This year, for the first time in a decade, those numbers are shrinking. So far, there have been roughly 1,000 deaths.
The hope moving forward is that charging people for murder related to fentanyl deaths deters dealers and manufacturers and helps that number continue to drop.
"And really put drug dealers on notice," Lapenna said.
There have been murder charges applied to dealers in overdose deaths in Collin County, Denton County and more.