Zakkary McReynolds: 18-year-old fentanyl dealer charged with murder in overdose death of Texas teen

DENTON, TEXAS: A fentanyl dealer is facing murder charges in connection with the fatal overdose of a 17-year-old boy in Texas, as reported by authorities on Tuesday, January 16, per CBS News.

The Denton Police Department reported that Ryan Erwin was discovered unresponsive at a residence in the 7500 block of Barrymore Road in Denton when officers responded to an overdose call on the morning of September 23.

Erwin was swiftly transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of the teen's death to be a result of combined fentanyl and diphenhydramine toxicity.

Police reported that during their investigation, detectives uncovered evidence indicating that Zakkary McReynolds, 18, had sold Erwin the fentanyl on the morning of his fatal overdose.

When was McReynolds arrested?

On Tuesday, police, along with the Denton County Sheriff’s Office and the US Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force, arrested McReynolds on a murder warrant in the 700 block of Campbell Lane. McReynolds is being held in the City of Denton Jail. 

Police said McReynolds’ arrest in connection to a fentanyl murder is the department’s third since a new state law went into effect in September that made supplying fentanyl that results in death a criminal murder offense.

Parents charged as 4-year-old nearly dies after fentanyl overdose

Meaww previously reported that charges have been brought against the parents of a four-year-old child who overdosed on fentanyl on his birthday.

Denard Bishop, 39, and Alexis Scarborough, 34, are charged with endangering the welfare of a child after their son was discovered on November 25, gasping for air while taking a nap at his father's Golf Manor home.

Following the incident, he was transported to the Cincinnati Children's Medical Center by ambulance.

Court records, obtained by Fox19 Now, indicate that the boy exhibited 'agonal breathing.'

This type of breathing is observed when an individual is not receiving sufficient oxygen and can lead to a potentially life-threatening condition.

Bishop spent two days out of custody before his mother was apprehended. Eventually, both were located and taken into custody. Scarborough entered a not-guilty plea to child endangerment on Wednesday, January 10.

Despite her attorneys' request for the judge to release her on her own recognizance to allow her to maintain employment as a hotel housekeeper, the judge denied the request.

Instead, a $10,000 bond was set, and she was instructed not to communicate with her children unless authorized by them.