A 19-year-old Dalton resident has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with a fentanyl overdose death of a juvenile girl. Superior Court Judge Scott Minter sentenced Devin Wayne Crawford of Davenport Road to 10 years in prison followed by 10 years on probation.
Crawford admitted to the charge of distributing a fentanyl pill to a minor.
Authorities said on July 30, 2022, around 10:32 a.m., a sheriff’s office lieutenant and three deputies responded to a home on Vaughn Drive on a call of an unresponsive female. A woman led them to the bedroom of her daughter.
The girl was lying dead in the middle of her bedroom. The woman said she came into her daughter’s bedroom and found her lying face down "gargling on her own blood." She said she turned her daughter over onto her back and found she was unconscious.
She said the daughter had been at a friend’s house the day before. The mother said she called the friend and was told that two girls had taken Percocet that was possibly laced with fentanyl. They said they had gotten the drugs from a third juvenile.
The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) conducted an investigation into the fatal overdose of the minor, leading to charges against Crawford upon discovering his involvement in providing the pill to the victim.
The investigation was led by Sergeant Cameron Cox. The state was represented by District Attorney Ben Kenemer at the sentencing hearing.
DA Kenemer agreed to dismiss the felony murder charge and the distribution of fentanyl charge in exchange for Crawford’s plea to second-degree murder.
Crawford was represented by Public Defender Jerrid Thompson, of the Whitfield County Public Defender’s Office.
DA Kenemer said, “Second-degree murder is only present as a valid charge when the underlying predicate offence which caused the young person’s death is cruelty to children in the second degree.
“Crawford’s distribution of the fentanyl caused the child cruel and excessive pain when she overdosed on the substance and so second-degree murder was the most accurate crime to describe what Crawford did to this child.”
DA Kenemer informed Judge Minter that the victim’s family approved the recommendation to avoid the trauma of going through a trial. The DA expressed his gratitude to the Whitfield County Sheriff's Office "for their hard work in bringing this case to completion."
He said it "emphasized the real danger of drug abuse and the consequences. Drug abuse and overdosing on fentanyl is a real danger to everyone in our community. I appreciate the efforts of law enforcement to ensure that Crawford was held accountable for his actions.”