Deadly fentanyl trend felt in Northwest Arkansas

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Rogers paramedics responded three times in a 24-hour span in July to a man overdosing. He refused to go to the hospital after the first two calls and died of a fentanyl overdose.

Coroners, law enforcement officers and prosecutors are seeing increasing arrests and deaths related to the spread of fentanyl in Northwest Arkansas.

U.S. Attorney Clay Fowlkes called fentanyl the greatest drug threat to Americans today. Fentanyl kills more Americans between 18 and 45 years old than terrorism, car accidents and covid-19 combined, he said.

Fentanyl is responsible for nearly 70% of deaths in that age range, according to Anne Milgram, administrator for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

Fowlkes said fentanyl is a highly addictive opioid, 50 times more potent than heroin and a hundred times more potent than morphine.

“Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl is a lethal dose,” Fowlkes said. “That’s about what you can fit on the end of a pencil.”

Law enforcement, prosecutors and others working to decrease the number of fentanyl-related deaths agree there are several issues complicating their efforts.

One, the drug is often disguised as or mixed with other substances, leaving users unaware they are consuming fentanyl, Fowlkes said. Second, there is no quality control to ensure the amount of fentanyl someone is consuming is not a lethal dose.

Third, the stigma surrounding drug use also makes people less likely to take advantage of services aimed at saving lives, such as the distribution of free fentanyl test strips and Narcan, said Brittany Kelly, founder of Northwest Arkansas Harm Reduction, a group that aims to reduce the number of deaths from drug use in the area.

One statement most people involved in the effort to combat fentanyl deaths agree on is that it will take more than arrests and prosecutions to solve the issue.

“We can’t arrest our way out of this problem,” Kelly said.

‘NO QUALITY CONTROL’

Two undercover detectives with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office know the effects of illicit drugs. Both said methamphetamine remains the No. 1 drug in Northwest Arkansas, but they’re seeing fentanyl use rising. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette isn’t using the officers’ real names because they work undercover.

One of the detectives — John Smith — said people are combining all kinds of illicit drugs with fentanyl.

Smith said some people may believe they’re buying methamphetamine, Xanax, or another opioid, but in reality, they are getting fentanyl or a mixture containing it.

“That’s the big problem,” Smith said. “There’s no quality control. You don’t know what you are getting.”

The detectives said one pill may contain one amount, but another pill might contain a larger dose, leading to a person’s overdose and death. They describe fentanyl as extremely addictive. Users say it’s like they’re dying when they try to quit, they said.

Smith said they are seeing many fentanyl cases in which a synthetic drug — xylazine — is mixed with fentanyl.

“It’s basically a sedative for horse or cattle, and when people use it with fentanyl, Narcan is ineffective in reversing those effects,” said John Johnson, the other undercover detective.

Narcan, also known as naloxone, is a life-saving medication that can reverse an overdose from opioids — including heroin, fentanyl and prescription opioid medications — when given in time, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Narcan is easy to use and small to carry. There are two forms of Narcan that anyone can use without medical training or authorization: prefilled nasal spray and injectable.

Smith said detectives have also encountered drug dealers disguising fentanyl as candy.

“We have made purchases of it,” he said. “It’s multicolored, and it’s very attractive to younger people.”

The 4th Judicial District Drug Task Force, which includes Madison and Washington counties, reported that in September, officers seized 1,100 fentanyl pills and 10.3 grams of fentanyl and disrupted six drug trafficking operations. In October, officers seized 4,872 fentanyl pills and disrupted two drug trafficking operations.

Sgt. Jacob Lawson, with the task force, said the information gathered locally confirms what has been reported on the national level.

“We are seeing an uptick in the fentanyl problem,” Lawson said. “The biggest problem is the fraudulent pills. They are designed to look like oxycodone or Xanax or some other drug. You don’t know how potent one pill could be to the next. That’s what makes them so dangerous, the level of lethality.”

PROSECUTIONS

Ethan Driskill, 33, of Farmington, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl, resulting in the death of a person. He was sentenced in September to 38 years in federal prison and fined $10,000.

This was the first case of its kind to be prosecuted in the Western District of Arkansas, according to Fowlkes.

Fayetteville police responded to a report of a drug overdose Feb. 3, 2022, at an apartment on Mount Sequoyah, resulting in the death of a 29-year-old man, identified in court documents as “R.H.”

R.H.’s body was face down on his living room floor. Officers found a small amount of a white substance and a syringe near the body. The white substance was later determined to contain fentanyl.

Family members contacted federal authorities, and their cooperation helped implicate Driskill and two associates, Fowlkes said.

Fowlkes said an emergency response team has been established to identify, investigate and prosecute every single overdose in western Arkansas, whether it results in a death or not.

He said intelligence reports show cartels can make a single fentanyl pill for about 15 cents, and that pill will sell in western Arkansas for about $15 to $20. Such a profit margin makes the production and distribution of fentanyl lucrative for cartels.

Matt Durrett, prosecuting attorney for the 4th Judicial District, said fentanyl cases are growing in number in his district. In the past two to three years, he said, his office has had between 65 and 70 fentanyl-related cases, with about half of them now pending.

Durrett also has a case involving the state’s new “death by delivery” law in which a woman was accused of supplying fentanyl to someone who died of an overdose. Act 584 of 2023, the Fentanyl Enforcement and Accountability Act, creates death by delivery felony offenses — including aggravated death by delivery, death by delivery in the first degree, and death by delivery in the second degree. The charges apply when a person delivers or conveys fentanyl or another controlled substance causing another person’s death. The act makes trafficking fentanyl an unclassified felony with a penalty of 25 to 60 years or life imprisonment and a fine of $1 million. Fentanyl trafficking had been a Class Y felony with a penalty of a prison sentence of 10 to 40 years or life.

Christy Cawood, 37, of Fayetteville, was arrested in connection with aggravated death by delivery, trafficking fentanyl, and a few other drug-related charges, according to court records and a preliminary police report. She’s being held in the Washington County Detention Center on a $200,000 bond.

Cawood, according to the police report, was arrested after investigators were called to a Springdale home on Aug. 25 on a report of an overdose. A 40-year-old man was found face down in a room at the home with a used syringe in his hand and a recent injection mark on his arm.

Investigators found other drug paraphernalia in the room, along with two small pieces of a white, chalky substance that later tested positive for fentanyl. Police said in the report, the victim’s father identified Cawood as the person who sold his son the drugs. Police recovered video camera footage showing a vehicle the man identified as belonging to Cawood driving past the home and phone records showing conversations between the man and someone named “Christy.” Investigators used the man’s phone to text Cawood and engaged her in a conversation, indicating she supplied drugs to the man.

Thomas Gean, a Benton County deputy prosecutor, said the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office handled five fentanyl cases in 2021, 32 in 2022, and 31 so far in 2023.

A RISE IN DEATHS

Benton County Coroner Daniel Oxford described fentanyl use as an epidemic.

He shared the story about the man who overdosed three times in 24 hours on July 19 and died because of fentanyl. Oxford said he sees more illicit fentanyl deaths than individuals legally prescribed the drug and using it to combat pain.

Washington County Coroner Roger Morris said his office is also seeing an increase in fentanyl-related deaths. Most of the cases he sees involve fentanyl mixed with other drugs.

“Normally, it’s mixeddrug intoxication,” Morris said. “But fentanyl alone will kill you.”

Morris said evidence gathered at death scenes shows the frequency of “counterfeit” pills, which are made to look like one type of drug but are, in fact, partly or mostly fentanyl.

“If you don’t have it prescribed to you and you don’t buy it yourself over the counter, don’t take it,” he said.

LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS

Northwest Arkansas Harm Reduction has “definitely”

seen an increased need for its services, Kelly said. The group provides free Narcan kits, fentanyl test strips, sterile syringes, and other harm-reduction supplies.

“Since November 2022, we estimate our services have saved the lives of at least 70 people,” Kelly said. “We know that number is low. It’s based upon the people who provide us with feedback. Not everyone does that.”

One part of Act 584 of 2023 decriminalizes fentanyl test strips. The test strips previously were classified as drug paraphernalia, and possession of the strips was considered a felony.

Fentanyl test strips are a low-cost method of helping prevent drug overdoses and reducing harm, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fentanyl test strips are small strips of paper that can detect the presence of fentanyl in all different kinds of drugs (cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, etc.) and drug forms (pills, powder, and injectables). The test strips provide people who use drugs and communities with important information about fentanyl in the illicit drug supply so they can take steps to reduce the risk of overdose.

Act 584 was beneficial, but people struggling with drug addiction or mental health issues need more, said Chris Jones, a peer support specialist with Northwest Arkansas Harm Reduction.

Jones, a resident of Rogers, said he served prison time in Arkansas and Missouri for car theft and other crimes. Drug abuse was part of his lifestyle from his teen years until he chose to change, he said.

Jones said the Benton County Drug Court program “saved my life” and, after he completed the program, he wanted to help others. He remained active with the drug court program and began working for a local recovery center.

Fentanyl is different from many other drugs, he said.

“Most of the people I’ve talked to weren’t trying to get fentanyl to begin with,” he said. “They were trying to get heroin, but couldn’t. They tried fentanyl a few times, and then they had to have it. They had to have it in their bodies. They weren’t chasing that next high; they were running away from the comedown.”

Jones said few people can handle such a strong addiction without medical help, but many avoid seeking help because of the social stigma attached to drug abuse.

Undercover officer Smith said the goal isn’t just to arrest people; it’s also to be there if people want help to get clean and sober. He and Johnson have taken people to rehabilitation facilities for treatment, Smith said.

“We have talked to too many parents who have lost adult children to drugs,” he said. “We have dealt with people one day and, before that week is over, we find them slumped over and dead. I mean … it hurts … those are human beings and somebody loved them.”

Brittany Kelly founder of Northwest Arkansas Harm Reduction