Another alleged dealer of fatal fentanyl doses was slapped with murder charges by North Texas authorities last week.
Wylie police arrested 30-year-old Kennedy Kirby of Garland on drug and gun charges on February 6, but the charges were enhanced to murder. An investigation into the overdose death of 23-year-old Jacob Bowers in January reportedly led detectives to Kirby, who was believed to have made the drug delivery via an unsuspecting Uber driver, according to a news release from the Wylie Police Department.
Upon executing a search warrant on Kirby’s residence, police allegedly found 22.3 grams of raw fentanyl, 1,436 fentanyl pills, and 1,054 pills containing both Xanax and fentanyl. Cash and a handgun were also allegedly uncovered, the latter being unlawful for Kirby to possess because he had previously been convicted of a felony.
While Kirby was initially booked into Collin County Detention Facility on a charge of manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance, the toxicology report confirmed that Bowers’ death was related to fentanyl, which exposed Kirby to a murder charge. The so-called Tucker’s Law passed in Texas last year went into effect in September 2023, allowing those accused of peddling fatal doses of fentanyl to be prosecuted for murder, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
Fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, is estimated to cause around five deaths each day in Texas alone. Tucker’s Law aims to curb these numbers by deterring would-be dealers and has led to upgraded charges across North Texas in recent months.
For instance, last week, Grapevine police charged 35-year-old Kami Ludwig with murder for the death of her 47-year-old boyfriend, William Shane Nolen, in November 2023. As reported by The Dallas Express, Ludwig stands accused of buying the drugs that Nolen overdosed on from dealers in Fort Worth and Louisiana.
“Fentanyl is a growing problem in our country. The Wylie Police Department will thoroughly investigate all cases of overdose and hold those persons responsible for placing fentanyl in our community,” said Wylie Police Chief Anthony Henderson.
Shortly after Bowers’ fatal overdose, another Wylie resident, 17-year-old Chance Stovall, died in Dallas’ Children’s Hospital after allegedly snorting crushed-up fentanyl-laced pills, as previously covered by The Dallas Express. The incident is still under investigation, but Stovall’s friend Connor Miller allegedly told police that they had purchased the drugs from a dealer in Dallas along Harry Hines Boulevard, according to NBC 5 DFW. This location falls within Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6.
Reports of drug crime in Dallas have already increased year-over-year by 5.1% as of February 18, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard. While District 6 logs the highest number of drug offenses, this and other types of crime — such as motor vehicle theft and assault — have plagued Downtown Dallas amid a significant officer shortage within the Dallas Police Department.
Comparative studies of crime in Downtown Dallas and Fort Worth’s city center, which is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security officers, show that the former logs consistently higher figures than the latter. The Metroplex Civic & Business Association, which conducts these studies each month, estimates that many crimes may go unreported due to long police response times.
The DPD fields just 3,000 officers despite a City report recommending a force of 4,000 to ensure public safety and adequate response times. Dallas City Council also voted to budget just $654 million for police operations this year, which is significantly less than the spending levels seen in other high-crime jurisdictions like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.