‘This sends a message’: Tarrant jury returns first fentanyl murder conviction
A Tarrant County jury has for the first time convicted a man of murder under a new Texas law targeting distribution of fentanyl.
Jacob Lindsay, 48, was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the September 2023 overdose death of 26-year-old Brandon Harrison, according to the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office.
Harrison died in Fort Worth after ingesting fentanyl and methamphetamine. Investigators later determined the deadly drugs were delivered to him by Lindsay.
“This sends a message to all the Jacob Lindsays out there,” Brandon Harrison’s father, Richard, said in a statement released by the DA’s office. “If you (sell fentanyl and someone dies), you are going to forfeit your right to live among us for the rest of your life.”
The state law Lindsay was sentenced under went into effect on Sept. 1, 2023, 17 days before Brandon Harrison’s death, according to the news release.
Lindsay was the first person to go to trial under that law, officials said. A 19-year-old Azle man previously pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to 19 years in prison on similar charges.
“If you manufacture or distribute fentanyl that causes the death of another person, we will charge you with murder,” District Attorney Phil Sorrells said. “We are committed to getting this poison off our streets.”
