SLO County man died of a fentanyl overdose. Now his alleged dealer is on trial for murder

A San Luis Obispo woman should be convicted of murder for selling fentanyl to a Templeton man who then died of an overdose, prosecutors argued in court during opening statements of her trial on Monday.

Her defense, however, argued she was not at fault.

Brandi Turner, 50, is accused of selling the fentanyl that prosecutors say killed 30-year-old Quinn Hall on Oct. 26, 2022. Hall’s body was discovered the following day by a San Luis Obispo County Animal Services employee behind the old Animal Services building on Kansas Avenue.

“In 10 minutes, they transacted. That’s all it took,” San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Greg Devitt said in his opening statements. “No knife, no gun. It’s fentanyl.”

It’s the first time the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office has prosecuted an alleged drug dealer for murder if their customer dies of an overdose.

The agency did charge Timothy Clark Wolfe with second-degree murder in May 2020 for selling drugs laced with fentanyl that caused the death of 19-year-old Atascadero resident Emilio Velci, but that case was transferred to the federal court system.

The prosecutiorial technique has been practiced only a handful of other times in California, including in Sacramento and Riverside counties.

A federal bill aims to make selling fentanyl that results in death a first-degree murder charge across the country. It was introduced to the Senate in February 2023 by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, but has seen little movement since.

SLO DA: Dealer knew of fentanyl’s lethal affects before she sold it

In his opening statement, Devitt previewed the evidence he intends to show jurors in the trial, including surveillance footage from the Oklahoma Safe Parking Site, photos of drugs found in Turner’s RV from a search warrant and text messages between Turner and Hall.

He said Turner was trained about the dangers of fentanyl when she worked for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as a correctional sergeant at the California Men’s Colony — a job she lost in 2021.

“Fentanyl can be extremely dangerous, especially when consumed as a recreational drug,” the training said. “Doses as small as two milligrams can be fatal.”

Then, Devitt argued, about six months before Hall’s death, Turner’s husband, Barry Turner, died of a fentanyl overdose while Brandi was treated at the hospital for a fentanyl overdose. The two thought they were consuming cocaine, the prosecutor said, but it was fentanyl.

“By the time she sold to Quinn,” Devitt said, “she knew her husband died of a fentanyl overdose.”

Because Turner was aware of the grave danger of fentanyl, Devitt argued, she is responsible for Hall’s death.

Devitt said that while Hall had methamphetamine and GHB in his system at the time of his death, it was fentanyl that killed him.

GHB is an anesthetic that can produce sedative and euphoric effects, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Man who overdosed regularly used fentanyl, defense argues

Jeffry Radding, Turner’s attorney, argued that Hall was a regular fentanyl user who also knew the risks.

Hall had been consuming fentanyl before he had met Turner, Radding said, and had multiple sources to provide the drug.

“He came from a good family and a supportive home,” Radding said. “He had intellect, he had talent, yet he sought life’s answers through drugs. He was knowledgeable of the risks.”

Turner grew up with drug-addicted parents and did her best to “go against the grain” and seek a life without drugs, Radding said. And it worked.

She earned a steady job with CDCR, which required random drug tests, and she was able to provide for herself.

Turner’s husband, however, had a drug dependency that reached a peak in 2021. Turner’s mental health deteriorated, Radding said, and she lost her job.

That’s when “her own drug life began,” Radding said.

Turner was a meth user, Radding said, and eventually became a low-level, “middle-man” drug dealer. She was not a fentanyl user, Radding said, and avoided the drug, especially after her husband’s death.

Radding said Turner refused to sell Hall fentanyl after she heard he was treated for a GHB overdose on Oct. 5, 2022, and only sold to him after she was learned Hall had used fentanyl for weeks.

Radding argued the evidence does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Turner is responsible for Hall’s murder, and he asked the jury to keep an open mind.

SLO County Animal Services employee found body before shift

Sabrina Johnson testified she was 15 minutes early to her 7:30 a.m. shift at San Luis Obispo County Animal Services on Oct. 27, 2022, so she decided to check if any stray animals had been left in the designated zone behind the old building.

That’s when she noticed Hall, she said. He was on his knees in a fetal position with his forehead on the ground, photos showed.

At first, Johnson said, she thought he was a homeless person hanging out behind the old Animal Services building, which is next door to the Oklahoma Avenue Safe Parking Site. But as she got closer, she said, she noticed a small pool of blood underneath Hall’s head and saw that his face was bright blue.

She said she immediately drove to the Sheriff’s Office, which is across the street from the building, but could not find any officers out front. When she returned to the old Animal Services building, she said, she and her coworker took a second look at the body and called 911.

The pool of blood had nothing to do with Hall’s death, Devitt told the jury in opening statements. Hall had suffered from nosebleeds his entire life, his father later testified.

Several San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office deputies and detectives responded to the call and testified in court Monday.

Deputy Dominic Tartaglia, Det. Ian McFarland, Det. Gregory Smith and Sgt. Rory Linn all testified that Hall appeared to have been using fentanyl at the time of his death.

Two straws, tin foil, a lighter and two bags of white powder were found on Hall’s body at the time of their response, they testified. Linn, who helped perform the autopsy, said he later found an additional bag of a crystalized substance on Hall’s body.

Smith, who is the lead detective on the case, said fentanyl users commonly injest the drug by placing the powder on tinfoil, heating the tinfoil from underneath, then inhaling the vapor with a straw.

McFarland helped search Hall’s backpack, he testified, where he found an additional bag of white powder.

Hall’s father, Keith Hall, testified his son was a “smart kid” who had worked for his architecture business part-time building computers and doing administrative and IT work. His son became involved with drugs some time after his 18th birthday, he said.

Texts reveal Templeton man sought fentanyl from defendant multiple times before death

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Det. Jonathan Jones, who searched Hall’s phone, read through texts sent between Hall and Turner.

Jones works in the narcotics division with the Sheriff’s Office, he testified, and has extracted data from phones numerous times.

Texts read in court show Hall asking Turner for meth and fentanyl in August 2022, about a month before Hall’s death.

Hall and Turner used common code names for drugs, Jones said. “F” and “confetti” were code names for fentanyl, while “white” and “crap” were code names for meth.

He also said he could distinguish which drugs the two were talking about by the prices. Fentanyl is much more expensive than meth, Jones said.

In a text conversation on Aug. 15, 2022, Hall told Turner he wanted to buy $200 worth of meth and fentanyl. Hall told Turner he could buy fentanyl from another dealer, but Turner responded that that dealer had a reputation for “cutting,” or diluting, the drug.

Turner told Hall she could get him better quality fentanyl, and Hall agreed. Turner said she used her own $200 to front the cost of three grams of fentanyl — she said she wasn’t making money on the exchange — but needed Hall to pick up the drugs and pay her soon.

“Please do not screw me over. I put all my money out for you. I don’t f--k with that stuff and I don’t even want it in my house,” Turner wrote to Hall in a Aug. 16, 2022, text. “That’s how my husband died and I almost did. So please, come and get it as early as you can cause I literally have like 5 dollars left.”

An Aug. 21, 2022, text shows Hall seeking more fentanyl and meth from Turner, to which Turner replied, “Didn’t you just get narcanned?”

Narcan is used to treat opioid overdoses and can reverse its lethal effects.

Then, on Aug. 27, 2022, Hall texted Turner again for fentanyl and meth.

“I need it very badly,” one of Hall’s messages said.

Court adjourned before Jones could finish testifying about the texts. His testimony will resume Wednesday at 9 a.m.