A Miami man who witnessed a fatal fentanyl overdose then sold the same drugs to another man who died after taking the fentanyl is now facing a murder charge, police said.
Israel Medina, 38, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder, Miami-Dade jail records showed.
According to an arrest report, two men had died after overdosing on drugs at an apartment building at 1122 Northwest 3rd Street.
The first overdose happened on Oct. 7, 2022, when a man was found lying in a stairwell unresponsive. Fire rescue responded and pronounced him dead at the scene.
The next day, Oct. 8, 2022, fire rescue again responded to the building after a man was found unresponsive and lying on the grass outside the building. That man was also pronounced dead at the scene.
On Sept. 10, 2023, the county medical examiner determined their causes of death to be a combined drug toxicity of fentanyl, fluorofentanyl, cocaine and ethanol, the report said.
Investigators spoke with residents who recalled seeing Medina, who they knew as “Chucky” and his girlfriend “Hazel” in the building in the days leading up to the deaths and the days the victims were located, the report said.
Medina was arrested on Nov. 3, 2022 on two other cases and agreed to speak with detectives, the report said.
The section detailing the interview with detectives was redacted from the report, but was read by Judge Mindy Glazer during Medina’s appearance in bond court Thursday.
According to Glazer, Medina said he was hanging out at the building when the first man consumed the drugs.
The man said the drugs were too strong and handed them to Medina, who witnessed the man fall to the ground and become unresponsive, Glazer said.
Medina then cut the drugs with a lottery ticket and divided them into two bags, Glazer said.
The next day Medina sold one of the bags to the second victim for $20, Glazer said.
The second victim consumed them and immediately fell to the ground, became unresponsive and ultimately died, Glazer said.
Glazer ordered Medina held without bond, and appointed him a public defender.
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