A Garland man has landed in more legal trouble after investigators recently linked him to the death of a 15-year-old girl in July.
Erik Santos, 20, is accused of giving her the M-30 fentanyl pills she overdosed on in an alleyway.
“She may or may have not known what exactly it was,” explained Lt. Richard Maldonado with Garland PD.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, Santos was already arrested in connection to three teens overdosing on fentanyl he allegedly supplied them in August.
The three girls had purchased and then taken some pills. One was later found overdosing at an AMC movie theater, and the other two were discovered overdosing at a TGI Fridays.
First responders with the Garland Fire Department were able to revive the girls using Narcan.
“This could have easily been four fatal … overdoses of fentanyl,” Maldonado said.
One of the teens identified the Instagram account from which she had purchased the pills. Investigators were allegedly able to identify Santos as their suspect in this way.
An investigation into further local fentanyl suppliers is ongoing.
“This led us to other potential dealers, and those are being addressed also,” Maldonado said. “Those are all open investigations that they’re currently exploring. That’s something that they’re looking at. There’s a bigger picture to all of this.”
With the new count of delivery of a controlled substance causing serious bodily injury, which is a first-degree felony, Santos is being held in Dallas County jail in lieu of a $1.1 million bond.
The raging opioid drug crisis among young adults and teens has driven lawmakers to require anti-drug classes to be taught in Texas public schools from this school year on, as covered in The Dallas Express.
Meanwhile, drug offenses continue to add to Dallas’ crime rates, with 7,812 logged as of October 4, according to data from the City’s crime analytics dashboard. This represents an over 6% increase year over year.
As previously covered in The Dallas Express, the increase in crimes against society has been especially pronounced in DPD’s Central Division, which includes Downtown Dallas. Such offenses, which include those related to drugs, gambling, and prostitution, increased by 20.9% year over year. Drug crimes specifically increased by more than 28%, with DPD logging 1,128 reported incidents.
By contrast, Fort Worth’s downtown area logs significantly lower crime rates and is patrolled by a dedicated neighborhood police unit and private security guards.
However, Dallas police have struggled to curb crime amid an officer shortage. The department currently maintains a force of fewer than 3,200 officers. A City analysis previously recommended a city the size of Dallas needs about 4,000 officers to be considered adequately staffed.
