Man, 27, charged in triple homicide
Police chief: Fentanyl ‘has taken a lot of lives’ in Orange County
A 27-year-old Orlando man is facing three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the fentanyl overdose deaths of three men last month, police say.
At a Friday news conference, Orlando police Chief Orlando Rolón said the arrest of José Alberto González Delgado is part of the department’s larger crackdown on drug dealers who sell fentanyl.
Its latest effort, “Operation Good Call,” has yielded 69 arrests of mostly fentanyl drug dealers, according to the agency.
“[Fentanyl] has taken a lot of lives, especially in Orange County,” Rolón said. “Just as in this case, many of the victims do not know they are purchasing fentanyl — poison. These drug dealers are either lacing the drugs they’re selling with fentanyl to stimulate the addiction and spike sales or they’re simply swapping the drugs.”
González Delgado, who is being held at the Orange County Jail without bond, has pleaded not guilty, court records show. Police identified the victims as José Carlos Munez, 22; Yesvin Welcher, 31, and Franklin Rivera Díaz, 27.
Lt. Michael Lanfersiek said the three men were found dead Nov. 29 inside an apartment in the 5800 block of Curry Ford Road. The investigation revealed one of the deceased men had purchased what he believed to be cocaine from González Delgado, Lanfersiek said.
Rolón said officers who responded to the apartment found the situation “eerie” because it seemed like the three men had died quickly after ingesting the drug.
González Delgado allegedly told a witness that the man who bought drugs from him had asked for cocaine, but González Delgado didn’t have any at the time, Lanfersiek said.
“José González told the witness that he still needed to make money, so he sold them what he still had on him, which was fentanyl,” Lanfersiek said. “[He] told the witness that they would never know the difference — and unfortunately this was proven to be deadly wrong.”
OPD’s Special Enforcement Division has found fentanyl-laced in all types of drugs, including cocaine, heroin, MDMA, prescription pills and even cannabis, Lanfersiek said.
Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell said her recently launched narcotics unit will be handling the prosecution of González Delgado’s case.
“We are committed to ensuring that we stop the overdose deaths by fentanyl in our community,” she said. “... Fentanyl has made its way into every drug in Central Florida, including counterfeit pills, cocaine
president of the NAACP and she was a tremendous worker and helped me get a number of things accomplished,” said Bracy, whose three-year tenure as president in the Orange County chapter was a little more than a decade ago. “She was a great spirit.”
Neal’s early political experience included working for the Rev. Jesse Jackson and former Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry.
Her son, Kenneth, said Neal was transferred by the NAACP to Orlando soon after the contested 2000 presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush put Florida’s ballot irregularities on the national spotlight. It was to have been a temporary assignment.
“That’s what brought her to Orlando. They sent the team to Orlando for voter fraud and she has been here ever since,” Kenneth Neal said. “She was one of those who if you needed someone to vouch for you and be in your corner, that’s her.”
Neal is a former executive director for the NAACP Florida State Conference and established several chapters of the National Congress of Black Women in Florida.
Dawn Curtis, chair of the Orange County Soil & Water Conservation District, arrived in Orlando at about the same time as Neal and began to work with her at the National Congress of Black Women.
“She was absolutely passionate for the Black community to make sure that there was justice and equality,” Curtis said. “She was a true, true civil rights fighter.”
Curtis said Neal helped in her bid for the conservation district seat in 2018, teaching her about the many environmental injustices — from neglected trash and dump sites to air and water pollution — that occur in Black communities.
“She was extremely instrumental,” Curtis said. “I really describe her as a political mastermind.”
In recent years, Neal challenged the city of Orlando and its municipally owned Orlando Utilities Commission to reconsider policies that leave low-income families burdened with disproportionately high energy and water bills.
She was a founding member of the First 50 Coalition, which advocates for sustainability progress in the Orlando area.
“Ms. Neal focused her efforts on energy-justice issues and when she met with OUC she said it like it is,” said Raquel Fernandez, an organizing representative for Sierra Club in Central Florida. “She was really passionate about the topic of energy burden especially when it comes to seniors.”
Bracy’s son, state Sen. Randolph Bracy, a Democrat from Ocoee, said Neal would call him day or night.
“She would always give me things to watch out for at the legislative level,” Bracy said. “She was always informed and aware of what was going on at the city level, state level and federal level, especially about issues that affected our community and specifically African Americans,” Bracy said.
“I cannot think of a more fierce advocate for those issues,” Bracy said, “than Beverlye Neal.”
She died Monday, Dec. 13. She was preceded in death nearly 20 years ago by a son, Andre. Along with Kenneth of Orlando, she is survived by sons James of New York state and Odell of Atlanta, and five grandchildren.
Viewing will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 21, and her funeral will be Wednesday, Dec. 22, at 11 a.m. Both services will be at New Covenant Baptist Church, 2210 Rio Grande Ave, Orlando.
Burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery in Jacksonville. Arrangements are being handled by Postell’s Mortuary of Orlando.