A South Bay teenager has been charged in the 2020 fentanyl overdose death of a 12-year-old San Jose girl.
The 16-year-old San Jose boy was taken into custody on Tuesday, as announced by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.
Authorities said the boy sold the drug – labeled an "M-30 pill" – to the girl on Nov. 14, 2020. The unidentified victim was videotaped by friends crushing three-quarters of the pill and lining it up for ingestion, police said. After snorting it, she passed out and "began snoring, a telltale sign of a fentanyl overdose," according to a news release.
She was taken to San Jose's Regional Medical Center where she was later declared dead.
The girl was the youngest person to fatally overdose in Santa Clara County in 2020.
"After thousands of deaths, everyone should know that fentanyl is a deadly poison," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. "Thanks to the San Jose Police Department, the Santa Clara County Specialized Enforcement Team, and our investigators, this child's tragically short life may help save others."
Fentanyl is estimated to be 50-100 times more toxic than morphine.
The drug comes in many forms in the South Bay, authorities explained.
In addition to "M-30," it's also dealt as "M-box-30s," "pressed blues," "blues," and "Oxy." This marks the second person to be charged with murder in connection with a drug overdose death in Santa Clara County. Authorities said a San Jose man is facing a murder charge after selling a fatal opioid over social media to a Santa Clara 18-year-old in 2020.
