Garland man selling fentanyl-laced pills charged with teen's death, police say
GARLAND, Texas - A man already in jail for allegedly selling fentanyl-laced pills to teens in Garland is now charged with the death of a teen.
Investigators are looking to find out who was supplying the alleged drug dealer.
The Garland Police Department is charging 20-year-old Erik Santos with delivery of a controlled substance causing death or serious bodily injury after a 15-year-old girl was found dead abandoned in an alleyway in Garland because of a fentanyl overdose on July 14.
"She may or may have not known what exactly it was," said Garland Police Lt. Richard Maldonado.
Santos is already in Dallas County.
Erik Santos (Source: Garland Police)
On Aug. 1, police say Santos supplied blue M-30 fentanyl pills to two girls who overdosed inside a TGI Fridays, and one girl who overdosed inside a movie theater. All three girls survived.
One of the girls showed an officer the Instagram account of the young man she says gave her the pills. The officer matched it to Santos, who was already under investigation regarding the deadly fentanyl overdose of the 15-year-old girl in July.
"This could have easily been four fatal doses, overdoses of fentanyl," Maldonado said.
Garland PD is now announcing Santos’ charge for the 15-year-old girl’s death after a toxicology report confirmed fentanyl poisoning to be the cause. The department says Santos and others were with her when she overdosed but abandoned her.
"Parents, they know some of what’s going on," Maldonado said. "But unfortunately, they’re not totally educated as to the severity of what this illicit drug can do."
Now, the department says it’s investigating up the fentanyl chain. Charges could be coming to those who allegedly supplied fentanyl to Santos.
"This led us to other potential dealers, and those are being addressed also," Maldonado said. "Those are all open investigations that they’re currently exploring. That’s something that they’re looking at. There’s a bigger picture to all of this."
The name of 15-year-old girl who died of a fentanyl overdose is not made public by police because she’s a minor.