Fentanyl overdoses soar in Bay County. How law enforcement is holding suppliers responsible
PANAMA CITY BEACH — A Beach woman has been arrested in connection with a fentanyl overdose resulting in the death of another woman in March.
Dorothy Annette Conkle, 27, was arrested Tuesday on charges of culpable negligence manslaughter and fentanyl possession with intent to distribute, according to the Bay County Sheriff's Office.
Conkle's arrest is the latest development in the growing fentanyl problem in Bay County.
"As far as deaths and overdoses, fentanyl is our biggest problem," said Lt. David Higgins of the BCSO's Special Investigations Division. "(Dealers) are mixing it with heroin, meth. ... They're pressing pills with fentanyl. (Buyers) think they're buying Xanax, but they're buying Xanax pressed with fentanyl. They're taking it, they're overdosing and they're dying."
3 arrested: Police seize enough fentanyl 'to kill every single resident' in Panama City
5 arrested: BCSO seizes 2 pounds of meth, 21 grams of fentanyl and heroin, 2 guns
Holding the supplier responsible
Through Thursday, deputies have seized about 800 grams of fentanyl — 28.5 ounces or almost 2 pounds, their records show.
The drug problem is so extensive, Higgins said, that "almost daily" first responders are reviving overdosed victims with Narcan.
"Narcan has saved countless lives in Bay County," he said.
And authorities are following up with time-consuming investigations that, in the event of a death resulting from illegal drug use, can mean murder or manslaughter charges for whoever supplied the drug.
"Any person that we're able to identify that was involved in the delivery of that substance to the deceased person could be held responsible for that person's death," said Capt. Jason Daffin with the BCSO Criminal Investigations Division. "Our ultimate goal is to do the best we can to hold everyone responsible."
PCB man arrested: BCSO seizes 50,000 lethal doses of fentanyl
More people in Florida died as the result of using fentanyl in the first half of last year than from using any other drug, according to the publication titled “Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons by Florida Medical Examiners.” The publication is the product of the Medical Examiners Commission of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
In the first half of last year, 2,920 people in the state died with fentanyl in their bodies, and 50 of them died in the Panama City metro area, according to the publication. In comparison, only 10 people died in the Panama City area from fentanyl in all of 2015.
Sheriff Tommy Ford said the most concerning crime his agency is addressing at this time involves fentanyl.
His deputies arrested five men earlier this month when they seized 21 grams of fentanyl, two pounds of meth, an undisclosed amount of heroin and two loaded guns. The 21 grams of fentanyl are considered enough to kill 10,000 people.
Deputies arrested a 50-year-old man on March 31 in Panama City Beach, seizing 119 grams of fentanyl, an amount they say is equivalent to 50,000 lethal doses.
His agency isn't alone.
Last week, Panama City police arrested three men while seizing what investigators said was enough fentanyl "to kill every single resident" of the city boasting a population of about 35,000 people.
The two-week investigation sparked by neighborhood complaints and traffic stops on drivers seen leaving a home yielded 43.6 grams of the drug that the DEA says is up to 100 times more potent than morphine.
Manslaughter charge
Conkle's arrest on the culpable negligence manslaughter charge followed a March 19 drug overdose at a Panama City Beach home. A 26-year-old woman had been found unresponsive in her bed by a family member.
Deputies and EMS started lifesaving measures and transported her to a local hospital, where she died five days later.
Toxicology and other tests revealed the woman died of an overdose as "a lethal amount of fentanyl was present in her blood at the time she was found and admitted into the hospital," the release said.
Her death sparked an investigation by the BCSO's Criminal Investigations Division and Special Investigations Division. Investigators later linked the fentanyl the woman had ingested to Conkle, according to BCSO officials.
Conkle was arrested at her residence on Treasure Palm Drive and booked into the Bay County Jail in the overdose death and on an unrelated warrant charging her with failure to appear in court for a retail theft charge.
Court records show she remained behind bars Thursday with bond set at $501,500.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Fentanyl deaths soar; Panama City Beach woman charged with fatal dose
