A drug dealer has been charged with the murder of a 12-year-old San Jose girl who fatally overdosed on fentanyl, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
The 16-year-old San Jose resident sold the drug to the girl in 2020, the DA’s office said in a press release. She died shortly after consuming three-quarters of a single pill. The victim, referred to as “Jane Doe,” became the youngest person to fatally overdose in the county in 2020.
The charged minor faces incarceration, authorities said.
“After thousands of deaths, everyone should know that fentanyl is a deadly poison,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “Thanks to the San Jose Police Department, the Santa Clara County Specialized Enforcement Team, and our investigators, this child’s tragically short life may help save others.”
On Nov. 14, 2020, the 12-year-old girl was with two other teens when she contacted the suspect and bought a “M-30” pill. The group videoed her lining up the crushed pill for ingestion, the press release says.
After snorting the fentanyl, she passed out and began snoring, a telltale sign of a fentanyl overdose, according to authorities. Shortly after they brought her to the Regional Medical Center in San Jose, she was declared dead.
SJPD arrested the youth on Jan. 25. In the alleged dealer’s Google Photos account, there were screenshots of public service warnings over fentanyl overdoses. The PSAs predated the girl’s death, authorities said.
This is the second time the Santa Clara County DA’s Office has charged a drug dealer with murder after a fatal overdose, according to the press release. A San Jose man is facing a murder charge after selling a fatal opioid over Snapchat to a Santa Clara 18-year-old in 2020.
Fentanyl is about 50 to 100 times more toxic than morphine. Just a few grains can cause a fatal overdose, according to authorities. Illicit fentanyl is sometimes pressed into pills made to look like other prescription pills (like oxycodone, hydrocodone, Xanax and others).
In Santa Clara County, fentanyl is especially prevalent in fake generic pills, with such street names as “M-30s,” “M-box-30s,” “pressed blues,” “blues,” and “Oxy,” says the DA’s press release.
“If you provide a substance containing fentanyl to someone and that person dies as a result, you can be charged with murder,” the press release says.
If you or someone you know is addicted to opioids, visit the County of Santa Clara Behavioral Health Services Substance Use Treatment Services webpage: bhsd.sccgov.org/information-resources/substance-use-resources-information.
