A jury in Tarrant County, Texas, handed down a life sentence following a jury trial under the state’s new law that charges a fentanyl dealer with murder if a customer dies from the drug. The district attorney pledges that more of these fentanyl murder cases will be tried to send a message to drug traffickers.
The Tarrant County jury sentenced 48-year-old Jacob Lindsay to a life sentence following his conviction for murder resulting from the sale of fentanyl. Lindsay sold fentanyl to 26-year-old Brandon Harrison, a recovering drug addict. Harrison died from an overdose after taking the drug purchased from Lindsay, CBSDFW reported.
“This sends a message to all the Jacob Lindsays out there,” Richard Harrison, the victim’s father, said following the sentencing hearing. “If you sell fentanyl and someone dies, you are going to forfeit your right to live among us for the rest of your life.”
This is the first conviction in a jury trial in Tarrant County under the new law, which went into effect in September 2023.
Harrison told the local CBS affiliate that his son had been trying to stay sober, but Lindsay would not leave him alone. He said his son did not reach out to Lindsay, but Lindsay persistently contacted Brandon.
Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrels sent out a written statement following the conviction. “This conviction and sentence send a clear and powerful message,” the prosecutor wrote. “If you manufacture or distribute fentanyl that causes the death of another person, we will charge you with murder. We are committed to getting this poison off our streets.”
While this is the first death sentence handed down under the state’s new fentanyl murder charge, another Tarrant County man, 19-year-old Kaeden Farish, received a sentence of 19 years in prison after reaching a plea agreement with the district attorney’s office.
In September 2024, the Texas Legislature heard testimony that 46 people had been charged with murder under the law passed in the 88th legislative session, Breitbart’s Amy Furr reported.
A family member told the committee members, “Fentanyl is out there, and it doesn’t come looking like fentanyl. It’s a real issue. It has no demographics. It doesn’t care about your background. It doesn’t care if you have good parents. It’s there, and it’s a danger. And it’s, it’s taking kids.”
In April, the Drug Enforcement Administration praised the Texas law, calling it another tool in the war against fentanyl trafficking. Omar Arellano, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s El Paso Division, said, “Drug dealers even considering setting up shop in Texas need to keep that in mind.”
His comments followed the indictment of Eric Robles, a federally convicted drug smuggler. The new Texas murder indictment came just months before Robles was set to complete his federal prison term for drug smuggling.
Following Braondon’s death in 2023, Richard Harrison told WFAA, “He didn’t deserve to go out like that. He took one pill. One pill was it. And he never woke up.”
Following this week’s sentencing hearing, Harrison told CBS, “Even though we got a life sentence and a murder conviction, I still lost my son. And there’s no winners.”
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
