A South Florida man was indicted for murder after the person he sold fentanyl to died, police said.
David Elliot Brown, 38, was already being held in a Broward County jail on a firearms charge related to a drug deal.
According to Hollywood Police, when a woman died 15 months ago from a drug overdose, they determined Brown sold her narcotics including fentanyl.
Last week, after detectives testified before a Broward County grand jury, police said Brown was indicted on a first-degree murder charge.
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“Many of the drug users are not knowingly taking fentanyl. They are consuming fentanyl and 95% have no idea that it is fentanyl,” said Lindsay Chase, the president of the Broward Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Florida law allowing the grand jury indictment is aimed at holding those selling drugs accountable, Chase said.
“Drug dealers are being held responsible for their actions," Chase said. "So now if a drug user dies as a result of drugs that are sold to them by a drug dealer, the drug dealer is going to be held responsible for murder.”
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In central Florida north of Orlando Monday night, Tavares officer Courtney Bannick came in contact with fentanyl during a traffic stop.
"She just barely opened it, saw that it was you know, narcotics, and closed it quickly," said Courtney Sullivan with the Tavares Police Department.
Bodycam footage showed Bannick on her back and having trouble breathing. Other officers quickly treated her and got Bannick to the hospital, where she's now recovering. Police said they released the body camera video so the public can see just how dangerous fentanyl is.
“It is now one of the leading causes of death here in Florida," Chase said.
Chase hopes that the state and federal prosecutions of drug dealers that go beyond distribution charges will save lives.
“I want to be optimistic and think that as a result of arrest like this that it will cause a deterrent and make drug dealers concerned about selling these drugs to individuals out on the street,” Chase said.
Brown remains in Broward jail under U.S. Marshals custody.
