Abilene man indicted on fentanyl-related murder charge
An Abilene man has been indicted with first-degree murder in connection to a fentanyl-related overdose death.
Frederick Lamonn Hunter, 49, was indicted Thursday on first-degree murder, as well as on a third-degree felony charge of delivery of fentanyl causing death.
Hunter was being held Friday in the Taylor County Jail on a $200,000 bond for the murder charge and a $5,000 bond for a charge related to possession of a hydrocodone, according to jail records.
Texas House Bill 6 and companion Senate Bill 645 allow "prosecutors to seek murder charges against a person who supplies/distributes fentanyl that leads to an overdose death," according to a police press release.
'Deceased behind the wheel'
On Jan. 15, 2023, Joanna Bryant, 32, was found "deceased behind the wheel of her vehicle at the Cedar Creek apartment complex parking lot from an apparent overdose," according to the Abilene police.
The police subsequently completed a lengthy investigation, which led to Hunter's arrest in May.
He faces a possible five to 99 years or life in prison if convicted of the murder charge. Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court beyond a reasonable doubt.
Jerrill Kenyon Russell's first-degree murder charge was likely the first in Taylor County related to a fentanyl-induced death.
Russell's charge is in connection to the death of 20-year-old Jessalyn Star Sturgill after she allegedly ingested fake Percocet laced with fentanyl, according to allegations in court documents.
Fentanyl is "definitely on the rise the last couple of years" across Texas, Mary Avalos Belli, the Abilene crime lab manager, said earlier this year.
One pill containing fentanyl can kill because seven out of every 10 pills the DEA seizes contain a lethal dose of fentanyl, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
Abilene's first fentanyl-related murder Taylor County likely sees its first fentanyl-related murder charge
Fentanyl, on the rise Abilene crime lab official: Fentanyl 'on the rise'
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene man indicted on fentanyl-related murder charge
