A North Texas man now faces murder charges about five months after a co-worker he sold drugs to died of an overdose.
Pedro Martinez, 31, of Lake Dallas, has been charged with murder for allegedly selling cocaine laced with fentanyl to his co-worker, according to a news release from the Denton Police Department.
On January 21, officers responded to the 500 block of Inman Street after receiving a report of an unconscious man who was later identified as 26-year-old Dylan King.
King was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that King died from a combination of cocaine and fentanyl toxicity.
During the subsequent investigation, detectives learned that King had obtained the drugs from his Martinez. Detectives interviewed Martinez at the Denton County Jail, where he was being held on unrelated charges. He allegedly admitted to selling the drugs, which he knew contained fentanyl, to King.
On June 18, detectives obtained a warrant for Martinez on the charge of murder. He is still being held in the Denton County Jail on a $250,000 bond.
Martinez was previously arrested in 2022 for possession of a penalty group one controlled substance. The penalty group includes substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin.
This is the fifth fentanyl murder charge in Denton following the new Texas law that went into effect last year that “created a criminal offense of murder for furnishing fentanyl resulting in death,” according to the news release.
In May, a 45-year-old Denton woman was arrested for a fatal fentanyl overdose. per a news release from the city of Denton. Upon further investigation, Denton Police discovered that Ryan Michelle Warner, 45, sold narcotics to the victim. The victim was later identified as Shaun Cross, 38, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident occurred on March 25, when officers responded to a report of an unconscious person inside an encampment in the 1900 block of Briner Road. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Cross’ cause of death as fentanyl and methamphetamine toxicity.
On May 21, Denton police arrested Warner on a murder warrant in the 800 block of W. Hickory Street. Warner is being held at the Denton County Jail and her bond has been set at $500,000, according to jail records.
In Dallas, there have been 5,157 drug-related crimes so far this year through June 20, according to the city of Dallas’ crime analysis. information page of your operations.
With the Dallas City Council alone budgeting the department $654 million this fiscal year, the Dallas Police Department is getting by on far less taxpayer money than law enforcement agencies in other high-crime jurisdictions like Los Angeles and NY.
Meanwhile, DPD remains understaffed and has about 3,000 uniformed officers despite the city previously reporting a call for nearly 4,000.
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