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A Louisiana man has been arrested and charged with second degree murder after he allegedly sold a fatal dose of fentanyl to a high school senior, according to authorities.
The Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office (PPSO) and investigators responded to an overdose on May 14. Authorities say they found 18-year-old Hailey Deickman and another unidentified victim unresponsive. Deickman was taken to the hospital and was pronounced dead days later on May 18 at Ochsner Hospital Westbank Campus.
During the investigation, authorities discovered Franklin Senfles, 22, sold illegal drugs to Deickman just prior to her overdose.
“The amount of fentanyl currently being used in illegal narcotics is not only dangerous, but it’s becoming a major public safety issue,” Sheriff Gerald A. Turlich, Jr., said. “We will continue to aggressively pursue any individual that spreads this poison into our community.”
Deickman took half of a street pill labeled as Percocet, authorities told KNOE. Authorities say the pill was likely counterfeit and contained fentanyl, according to the report. (RELATED: Woman Indicted On Murder After 2-Year-Old Overdoses On Fentanyl)
“It may look like a Percocet, but it’s not,” Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich told the outlet. “It’s actually fentanyl.”
Hailey Deickman, 18, was a straight-A student getting ready to graduate. Sadly, she’ll never take those steps. Sheriff believes she took half a street pill sold as prescription Percocet, but likely a counterfeit pill containing Fentanyl. #opioidcrisis https://t.co/1r13brNBo3
— FED Up! Coalition (@FEDUpRally) May 21, 2021
“These counterfeit pills are disguised to look like, oxycodone, pain medications or Xanax. What happens is people are buying these pills off the street, thinking they’re buying something that a health care provider prescribed to someone,” Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Special Agent In-Charge Brady Byerley told KNOE.
Senfles was arrested and charged with one count of second degree murder and one count of attempted second degree murder of a second victim, according to police.
Deickman was just days away from her high school graduation, according to KNOE.
Fentanyl is an opioid around 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the DEA. One kilogram of fentanyl is strong enough to kill 500,000 people, according to the DEA.