Woman is sentenced in fentanyl death
A 33-year-old woman who was facing a seconddegree murder charge in connection with the fentanyl overdose death of an East Ridge man was sentenced to three years of supervised probation as part of a plea deal.
Christy Brandon pleaded guilty Thursday to attempted delivery of fentanyl resulting in the May 27 death of Charles Rudder as part of the agreement with state prosecutors.
Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Boyd Patterson stood to address the courtroom following the plea. He said anyone selling or distributing fentanyl could end up on the hook for second-degree murder.
“Everyone in Hamilton County needs to understand fentanyl isn’t just killing people,” Patterson said. “The district attorney is charging people when someone dies.”
Last year, there were 206 fatal overdoses in Hamilton County, which was an 8.8% decrease from 2022, according to a county year-end report. About 1 in 1,844 people in the county died last year as a result of drug-related overdoses, according to U.S. census data.
There was blue residue visible in one of Rudder’s nostrils when he was found, and his autopsy showed the cause of death was a fentanyl overdose, Chief Opioid Prosecutor Jamie Pulido said in court.
While state prosecutors believe Brandon provided Rudder with the fentanyl that killed him, the case against her would have had some holes at trial, according to Pulido.
A digital forensics expert was unable to definitively say phone logs lined up with when Rudder obtained the drugs, Pulido said.
Brandon was a user of fentanyl herself, Pulido said.
It was the first time Patterson had taken such a plea, and he said it’s important there are additional options beyond a second-degree murder charge in fentanyl overdose cases.
Rudder’s family was as happy with the deal as they could be considering the situation, Pulido said. They were not present in court Thursday.