Prosecutors secured the first conviction in Tarrant County under a new state law allowing defendants to be charged with murder in some fentanyl overdose deaths, the district attorney’s office announced Thursday.
Kaeden Farish of Azle pleaded guilty to murder Tuesday and was sentenced to 19 years in prison.
Farish, 19, sold fentanyl-laced pills on Jan 20. to a 17-year-old who overdosed and died.
“We are working hard to get the people who sell this poison off the streets,” Tarrant County DA Phil Sorrells said in a news release.
The Texas law allowing someone to be charged with murder if they knowingly manufacture or distribute fentanyl that results in death was adopted in June 2023. One of the first convictions under the new law was in September 2023 in Wichita County as reported on in The Dallas Morning News’ award-winning project, Deadly Fake, which documented fentanyl’s impact on North Texas.
Tarrant County’s first indictment tied to the law was in December 2023.
Last year, Sorrells created a new unit at the DA’s office focusing on cases that involve narcotics — fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and more, according to the release.
“We are holding people accountable in Tarrant County,” Sorrells said. “We are doing everything we can to keep our community safe. We will continue to go after those who seek to profit from this deadly drug. You make it or deal it to someone who dies, we’ll charge you with murder.”
