An alleged fentanyl dealer in Denton has been charged with murder in connection to a fatal overdose.
Zakkary McReynolds, 18, is the third person to be indicted on enhanced charges in Denton through a recently enacted state law that classifies fentanyl-related deaths as poisonings.
House Bill 6, also known as Tucker’s Law, is a one-of-a-kind measure that allows producers or distributors of fentanyl to be charged with murder in the case of a fatal overdose, as previously covered in The Dallas Express.
In the case of McReynolds, investigators from the Denton Police Department identified him as the person who allegedly sold fentanyl to 17-year-old Ryan Erwin on the morning of September 25, 2023. The victim was found unconscious in the 7500 block of Barrymore Road, per a news release.
Despite being transported to a nearby hospital, he died of “fentanyl and diphenhydramine toxicity,” according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s report.
Diphenhydramine is marketed as the common over-the-counter medication Benadryl. Since antihistamines are sometimes abused or used to cut illicit opioids, they contributed to a considerable share — over 14% between 2019 and 2020 — of overdose deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Antihistamines do not respond to naloxone, a life-saving medication that can quickly reverse the effects of opioid overdose.
As of December 11, 2023, fentanyl had been responsible for 1,511 of 3,373 drug overdose deaths, according to the state’s fentanyl data dashboard.
McReynolds was arrested by Denton police, Denton County deputies, and members of the U.S. Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force on January 16 after being served with a warrant in the 700 block of Campbell Lane. He is being held in Denton County Jail on a $75,000 bond, according to jail records. He was previously arrested in 2022 by Lewisville police on assault charges but was released per orders of the judge.
In Dallas, drug crime soared in 2023, with 10,251 incidents reported by the Dallas Police Department for a 4.5% increase over the year prior, per the City’s crime analytics dashboard. Already, 422 drug offenses had been clocked this year as of January 16.
Such incidents stretch the resources of the DPD, which has been facing a critical staffing problem for years. It currently fields around 3,000 officers even though a City report recommended closer to 4,000. With only $654 million budgeted for DPD this year, Dallas’ city government will be spending much less on public safety than other high-crime jurisdictions, like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
The effects of DPD’s officer shortage can be seen in Downtown Dallas, which regularly logs significantly higher rates of drug crime compared to Fort Worth’s downtown area. The latter is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security guards.
