GEORGETOWN, Texas — Williamson Sheriff Mike Gleason said his department is taking a hard stance on fentanyl dealers.
According to Gleason, the county has already issued eight murder warrants for fentanyl-related deaths.
“We have eight murder warrants we have issued, and four of those are at the state level,” said Gleason.
Gleason said the sheriff’s office has a strong push going after dealers, thanks to a new state law that allows prosecutors to charge someone with murder if they sell fentanyl that leads to a death.
“If the end result is a death, we can charge the dealer with murder,” Gleason said.
One case involves Kreli Haynes, who is accused of supplying the fentanyl that led to the death of Zarek McMeekin in December 2023. Haynes has been charged with murder in that case.
“We are going find you, and we are going to prosecute you and you are going to catch a murder charge,” Gleason said.
Gleason said the most recent case was in Hutto, where 26-year-old Joseph Barrera was found dead in his bedroom at a home on Nueces River Trail. Barrera died last year, but investigators later learned that he died from fentanyl poisoning, subsequently charging Tyreik Gilbert with murder after it was determined that he sold Barrera the deadly dose.
Gilbert was already serving a four-year sentence for drug possession.
Gleason said they’re not stopping their fight against the fentanyl crisis.