Relative and 20-year-old drug dealer charged after teen’s fentanyl overdose, sheriff says
Two Northshore residents were booked Thursday with second-degree murder in the death of a Bush, Louisiana teenager who overdosed on fentanyl, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said.
The 15-year-old victim, whom the Sheriff’s Office did not identify, died at home on July 12 of what relatives suspected was an opiate overdose. Authorities said the teen had a history of abusing prescription pain pills, particularly Percocet, and they found pills marked as oxycodone and Percocet in the home. An analysis of the medication, however, showed them to be counterfeit pills consisting of fentanyl.
Deputies arrested Felisia Grantham, 41, a relative of the teen, on July 26 on charges of buying counterfeit pills from Alvin Laurant, 20, of Covington on the day of the overdose and providing them to the teen. They said they found illegal drugs in Laurant’s house and arrested him, too.
A warning on pills
Second-degree murder charges were added Thursday, after a toxicology report confirmed that fentanyl killed the teen.
“Fentanyl is deadly, and fake prescription drugs that are laced with fentanyl are being sold on the streets,” Sheriff Rudy Smith said. “The best way to protect yourself is to only take prescription drugs that are obtained from a licensed pharmacy. Parents, please talk to your children and warn them of the dangers of experimenting with drugs. One pill can kill.”
The teenager died on the same day that a 22-year-old Slidell man died after taking a single pill laced with fentanyl.
“In recent months we have seen reports of deaths related to ingestion of counterfeit Adderall, Xanax, marijuana, cocaine, and other pain pills,” said Dr. Charles Preston, the St. Tammany coroner. “In some other communities, fentanyl has even been detected in vape fluid. Quite simply, if it didn’t come from a pharmacy, you shouldn’t use it.”
A trend of overdose deaths
For several years now, public health authorities in St. Tammany Parish have watched with alarm as the number of drug overdose deaths rose from 53 in 2016 to a 150 last year, a record high, the coroner’s office said. The 2021 toll included 132 opioid-related deaths, some involving fentanyl.
The numbers in St. Tammany are trending down this year, with 35 overdose deaths recorded through July.
“I implore those with addictions to get help now, and I encourage anyone considering experimenting with illegally obtained drugs to take these cases as a strong cautionary lesson,” Preston said. “This situation could easily escalate into a public health emergency.”