HARRIS COUNTY, TX - For the last year, the Harris County District Attorney's Office has been implementing a bill that was signed into law on September 1, 2023, and have now stated that since going into effect, they have had approximately eight cases in which someone has been charged with murder where fentanyl is believed to be the cause of death.
According to Houston Public Media, House Bill 6 was signed into law in 2023, thereby allowing state prosecutors to charge accused drug dealers with murder in certain cases where fentanyl is believed to be the cause of death. The Harris County District Attorney's Office said that of the eight cases pending, none of them have been decided yet. The DA's chief, Garrett Moore said, "From my point of view on the prosecutorial end of it, it's basically one more thing we have in our toolbag to handle these types of deaths."
He added, "The ability to prosecute this type of offense existed before, but it was tied very closely to the weight of the amount delivered. When it's used in a non-medical and non-controlled environment, it very much is akin to poison. The goal is always to get dealers, to get people who are trafficking and to make sure that they're held accountable for the trafficking they're conducting.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, in 2019, 317 people died from a fentanyl overdose in Texas. By 2022, that number had skyrocketed to over 2,000. Harris County ranks number one in the state for fentanyl overdose deaths with 487 in 2022.
Moore said that the DA's office also has programs for those who are believed to be addicted to fentanyl or other dangerous drugs. He said, "There's a delineation, both factually, within our office and legally, between possession and possession with the intent or delivery. We've got programs like RIC [Reintegration] Court here that are designed to help people who are recovering and are dealing with addiction issues. Then there's major narcotics, which is my section, that handles the fentanyl ... people who are dealing this stuff to turn a profit as a living."
Moore said that he does not directly keep up with the local statistics around fentanyl prosecutions, he did say that he has personally seen an uptick recently in the number of eligible cases. He said, "In terms of the cases we're seeing that are being investigated, [that] are being tied back to dealers — whether they're being charged or not — that is going up anecdotally. I think it's partially because of evolving investigative techniques that officers on the front lines of this are dealing with these cases [that are] becoming more and more common. Then, I guess in terms of public awareness, people are more aware of fentanyl, which gives us the ability to have more viable prosecution."
Conroe News reported that one of the eight eligible cases to be prosecuted under the new law has been brought against a suspect in Montgomery County for his connection with the death of 18-year-old Jovan Cortez Ortiz, who succumbed to fentanyl-laced pills. The accused dealers, Muhammad Rafay and Angel Barrientos, are currently being charged with severe offenses, that if found guilty, could lead to life sentences.
Kim Ogg, the DA for Harris County said, "Both of these individuals are at risk of serving life sentences." She said that this legislation provides the DA's office with the ability to extract additional information regarding the supply chain from mid-level dealers. Harris County authorities are currently in the process of updating their fentanyl task force to address the escalating crisis.
The task force's objective is to improve the level of collaboration between public health officials and law enforcement agencies to combat the increasing number of overdose fatalities. Ogg said that the task force with concentrate on the monitoring of fentanyl sources and the promotion of community awareness regarding the drug's hazards.
According to Houston Public Media, House Bill 6 was signed into law in 2023, thereby allowing state prosecutors to charge accused drug dealers with murder in certain cases where fentanyl is believed to be the cause of death. The Harris County District Attorney's Office said that of the eight cases pending, none of them have been decided yet. The DA's chief, Garrett Moore said, "From my point of view on the prosecutorial end of it, it's basically one more thing we have in our toolbag to handle these types of deaths."
He added, "The ability to prosecute this type of offense existed before, but it was tied very closely to the weight of the amount delivered. When it's used in a non-medical and non-controlled environment, it very much is akin to poison. The goal is always to get dealers, to get people who are trafficking and to make sure that they're held accountable for the trafficking they're conducting.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, in 2019, 317 people died from a fentanyl overdose in Texas. By 2022, that number had skyrocketed to over 2,000. Harris County ranks number one in the state for fentanyl overdose deaths with 487 in 2022.
Moore said that the DA's office also has programs for those who are believed to be addicted to fentanyl or other dangerous drugs. He said, "There's a delineation, both factually, within our office and legally, between possession and possession with the intent or delivery. We've got programs like RIC [Reintegration] Court here that are designed to help people who are recovering and are dealing with addiction issues. Then there's major narcotics, which is my section, that handles the fentanyl ... people who are dealing this stuff to turn a profit as a living."
Moore said that he does not directly keep up with the local statistics around fentanyl prosecutions, he did say that he has personally seen an uptick recently in the number of eligible cases. He said, "In terms of the cases we're seeing that are being investigated, [that] are being tied back to dealers — whether they're being charged or not — that is going up anecdotally. I think it's partially because of evolving investigative techniques that officers on the front lines of this are dealing with these cases [that are] becoming more and more common. Then, I guess in terms of public awareness, people are more aware of fentanyl, which gives us the ability to have more viable prosecution."
Conroe News reported that one of the eight eligible cases to be prosecuted under the new law has been brought against a suspect in Montgomery County for his connection with the death of 18-year-old Jovan Cortez Ortiz, who succumbed to fentanyl-laced pills. The accused dealers, Muhammad Rafay and Angel Barrientos, are currently being charged with severe offenses, that if found guilty, could lead to life sentences.
Kim Ogg, the DA for Harris County said, "Both of these individuals are at risk of serving life sentences." She said that this legislation provides the DA's office with the ability to extract additional information regarding the supply chain from mid-level dealers. Harris County authorities are currently in the process of updating their fentanyl task force to address the escalating crisis.
The task force's objective is to improve the level of collaboration between public health officials and law enforcement agencies to combat the increasing number of overdose fatalities. Ogg said that the task force with concentrate on the monitoring of fentanyl sources and the promotion of community awareness regarding the drug's hazards.
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Comments
2024-09-08T15:42-0400 | Comment by: Fred
Murder won't work. Intentional democrat loy-yuh information misdirect. More accurately, the charge should be assisting suicide of a mentally ill person. Since only stupid people do drugs. Anyone taking illicit fentanyl obviously has no cause and effect genes! Thus- mentally deficient! Since illicit fentanyl is more accurately described as a deadly poison, assisted suicide more accurately fits. Shakespeare was right!
2024-09-08T21:18-0400 | Comment by: Todd
Great idea but the Democrats wont allow it.