Tarrant County man indicted for murder in fentanyl overdose case
FORT WORTH, Texas - A Tarrant County grand jury handed down the county’s first murder indictment for a man accused of supplying deadly fentanyl.
Jacob Lindsay, 46, will stand trial for the murder of 26-year-old Brandon Harrison.
Harrison died from a fentanyl overdose at a Fort Worth home on September 18. An arrest affidavit refers to it as a "sober house" for recovering addicts.
The court document indicates Harrison died with a lethal amount of fentanyl in his system.
Investigators said they found a bag containing a blue pill stamped with "M30," or counterfeit oxycondone known to often be laced with fentanyl, and a small crystal-like rock in his pocket, which was later determined to be methamphetamine, after his death.
They got permission from his family to search his cellphone and found text messages from the day before his death suggesting he’d met someone in a Fort Worth parking lot near where he worked to purchase two "percs" and methamphetamine.
Narcotics investigators said "percs" is a common street term for the prescription drug Percocet, which combines acetaminophen and oxycodone.
Police said the text messages read: "I’m here now come outside and I am in the parking lot to your left facing you." The victim replied, "Okay give me one second."
Then, 30 minutes later, there was more texting: "Thanks. Can you come by later with a little more clear." - a nickname for methamphetamine.
Gov. Abbott signs multiple fentanyl-related bills into law
Gov. Abbott signed multiple fentanyl-related bills. The bill with the biggest impact on dealers is House Bill 6.
"Counterfeit pills may contain lethal amounts of fentanyl or methamphetamine and are extremely dangerous because they often appear identical to legitimate prescription pills, and the user is likely unaware of how lethal they can be," the affidavit states.
The investigators used Harrison’s phone to arrange another meeting with the person who had sold him the drugs.
They arrested Lindsay after he showed up at the meeting location with more blue pills, which tested positive in a field test for fentanyl.
Suspected Carrollton drug dealers could face murder charges
Last week's arrest of two suspected drug dealers in Carrollton may be one of the first cases in Texas where a murder charge could apply. That's because of a new law allowing for the charge if certain drugs are sold leading to death.
His cellphone also contained the original text messages from Harrison, the affidavit states.
The grand jury’s indictment is the first in Tarrant County under a new Texas law that allows a person to be charged with murder for supplying fentanyl that leads to death.
In November, a Harris County man with multiple past convictions was the first in the state to be charged with murder for a fentanyl-related overdose.
Fort Worth attorney Roderick White, who is not affiliated with the case, said we will begin to see more similar indictments, but he points out a concern that it might take away the focus from the larger fentanyl manufacturing picture, where the fentanyl is coming from, and how it’s getting to local communities.