In first Tarrant County case, suspect charged with murder in fentanyl poisoning death
.jpg "In the first Tarrant County application of a Texas state law that allows murder charges against dealers who sell fentanyl to people who die from the drug, Fort Worth police this week arrested a suspect in the September death of a 26-year-old man.")
In the first Tarrant County application of a state law that makes a person who sells fentanyl to someone who dies from exposure to the synthetic opioid eligible for prosecution on murder, Fort Worth police this week arrested a suspect in the September poisoning death of a 26-year-old man.
A grand jury on Thursday indicted Jacob Lindsay, 46, on murder in connection with the death of Brandon Harrison in Fort Worth.
Fentanyl and methamphetamine toxicity caused Harrison’s accidental death on Sept. 18, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
According to a redacted arrest warrant affidavit released on Wednesday by Fort Worth police, officers were called to a sober living facility, Oxford House-McCart, on Huntwick Drive, where they found Harrison dead in his bed. Harrison had moved into the facility, which houses men who are in recovery from substance abuse, about two weeks before he died.
In a search of Harrison’s pockets, an investigator found a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl and a small methamphetamine rock, according to the affidavit written by an officer with the narcotics section of the police department’s tactical investigation division.
The investigating officer met with the victim’s father, who gave the officer Harrison’s cell phone and passcode. Investigators found a text message exchange between Harrison and a drug dealer, later confirmed to be Lindsay, according to the affidavit.
In the messages, the men agreed to meet outside Hulen Mall at a restaurant where Harrison worked as a waiter. Lindsay would sell Harrison meth and two “percs,” which is street slang for the counterfeit pills that contain fentanyl, the affidavit states.
Court records show Lindsay initially was taken into custody the day after Harrison’s death on a charge of manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance. Pills that had a presumptive positive result for fentanyl in a field test were found in Lindsay’s car when he was arrested, according to the affidavit. Lab results on the pills, which Lindsay was delivering to undercover officers, are pending, the affidavit states.
Based on the autopsy results and Lindsay’s “admissions during his interview” with police, investigators believe Lindsay knowingly delivered the fentanyl-laced pills that caused Harrison’s death, the affidavit states.
The Texas law allowing murder charges in fentanyl cases has existed for about three months.
A jury or judge considering punishment of defendants convicted of murder is required to select a prison term of between five and 99 years or life in cases in which the defendant has no felony criminal history. Lindsay has prior felony convictions for fraud and burglary, according to court records, meaning he would face a minimum 15-year sentence if convicted of murder.
The case will be prosecuted by the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office new narcotics unit.
Harrison graduated from Liberty Christian School in Argyle in 2016 and received a partial academic scholarship to the University of Arkansas, according to an obituary prepared by his family.
“He fought a long hard battle for many years. We will always love and miss him terribly,” a relative wrote. “Our hearts are truly broken, but we take refuge in knowing that our heavenly father is in control. Addiction affects so many families and brings so many hardships for all that are involved.”
This story was originally published December 13, 2023 at 12:22 PM.
