Man sentenced to 30 years on murder charge in fentanyl death, Tarrant DA says
A Tarrant County jury sentenced a man to 30 years in prison on a murder charge stemming from a 2023 fentanyl overdose death, District Attorney Phil Sorrells said.
Dwaine McKinney, 27, pleaded guilty to selling the drugs that killed a 20-year-old man, according to a statement from the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. Court documents identify the victim as Stevan Karsen Ek.
McKinney’s conviction is under a new Texas state law that allows prosecutors to charge people with murder if they make or sell fentanyl that causes the death of someone else, Sorrells said.
Ek was part of a recovery group in the months leading up to his death, according to an online obituary.
“You didn’t have to earn Karsen’s love and sometimes you got it even if you didn’t want it,” the obituary says.
Family and friends described Ek as “the epitome of love thy neighbor,” according to the obituary.
Arlington police investigated his death.
McKinney had a prior conviction for assaulting a family member, according to the grand jury indictment for this case.
This story was originally published May 5, 2025 at 2:56 PM.
