DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A 22-year-old suspected drug dealer is facing a murder charge for giving a man a fatal dose of fentanyl, officials said.
"Drugs will go after anybody and they will kill anybody. It doesn't matter who you are," Daytona Beach Police Chief Craig Capri said.
Justin Torrence is accused of selling fentanyl-laced heroin to 31-year-old Shea Watts, who died within minutes of ingesting the drug in October. Police said his friends, who later became witnesses, watched the whole transaction.
"Even though he had a drug problem, he's a victim. This is a sickness," Capri said.
Capri said Torrence is one of three reported drug dealers to be charged with murder in Volusia and Flagler counties since 2018.
Torrence has been in the Volusia County Jail since November 2017 for a slew of charges including heroin trafficking and fleeing.
The police chief has a strong message for anyone dealing drugs.
"We're going to go after drug dealers. We're going to hunt them down and we're going to take them out. I can't make that any more clear," Capri said.
Capri said he'll be supplying pouches for his officers to wear that will have a cooling element to hold Narcan, which can reverse an overdose.