Florida drug dealer charged with murder after client dies from fentanyl overdose
(Cover photo: Edwin Thompson mugshot, Image credit: PSLPD)
Florida’s Port St. Lucie Police Department’s (PSLPD) Special Investigations Division Detectives charged 32-year-old Edwin Thompson of Port St. Lucie this week with First Degree Murder after police say Thompson sold fentanyl to a 34-year-old man who died from a fatal drug overdose.
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The investigation began in July of 2022 when the victim was found deceased inside his vehicle in a parking lot after a drug transaction with Thompson. Detectives worked closely with the State Attorney’s Office and St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office over the last year to process evidence and execute several search warrants.
Del Toro said the victim, Michael McGaffin, 34, was found dead by his brother in his car and that he had overdosed on fentanyl. Responding officers found a bag of white powder in McGaffin’s car, which police said later tested positive for fentanyl. ~ WPTV
According to the police report, investigators found text messages on McGaffin’s phone arranging the drug buy.
“We additionally had found financial transactions on the phone through a cash app which indicated the victim had sent Thompson $20 for the drugs,” Del Toro said.
Thompson, who was already incarcerated at the St. Lucie County Jail for an unrelated incident, was charged this week by PSLPD Detectives with:
- First Degree Murder,
- Unlawful Distribution of a Controlled Substance,
- Sale of Fentanyl,
- Possession of Fentanyl, and
- Unlawful Use of Two-Way Communication Device.
Although other jurisdictions across the land have charged drug dealers with murder in overdose deaths, this is the first time that the Port St. Lucie PD has ever pressed such a charge against a drug dealer, according to CBS-12 News.
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(Source: PSLPD)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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