DALLAS — Tarrant County convicted a 19-year-old man of murder for a 17-year-old who died from a fentanyl overdose earlier this year, officials said Thursday.
This is the first conviction for the county under a new state law allowing for prosecutors to seek murder charges in some fentanyl deaths, according to the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office.
Kaeden Farish pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 19 years in prison, prosecutors said. He sold fentanyl-laced pills to 17-year-old Dustin Anderton on Jan. 20, 2024, who later died from them, according to officials.
“We are working hard to get the people who sell this poison off the streets,” Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells said in a statement.
Fentanyl is often substituted for other substances in opioids by some dealers, as it's cheaper to manufacture, officials say. Just two milligrams of it can be lethal.
"We will continue to go after those who seek to profit from this deadly drug," Sorrells said. "You make it or deal it to someone who dies, we'll charge you with murder."
Sorrells created a new unit focusing on cases involving drugs like fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine last year.
"Continue to deal this deadly drug and you're next," he said. "You make it or deal it to someone who dies, we'll charge you with murder."
House Bill 6, which was signed into law last year, allowed for this murder charge. State Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, was one of several authors on the bill.
This conviction fell during Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Month.
