Daytona Beach man indicted for 2022 fentanyl overdose death

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A Volusia County Grand Jury indicted a Daytona Beach man Wednesday who’s accused of selling a dose of fentanyl that killed a 40-year-old woman.

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Daytona Beach police officers responded to a home on Whitney Street just after 11 a.m. on December 13, 2022 for a suspected drug overdose.

Police found the victim dead on the floor with drug paraphernalia nearby, according to an incident report.

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After checking the victim’s phone, investigators say they identified 33-year-old Arthur P. Harris III as the person responsible for selling her the drugs the previous day.

According to an arrest report, just hours after the victim died, investigators used her cell phone to arrange another drug purchase from Harris.

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When Harris returned to the Whitney Street home to make another sale, takedown teams moved in and took him into custody.

Police searched Harris, who was already out on bond at the time for drug-related charges, and found multiple clear plastic bags containing a variety of drugs including fentanyl, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, and cannabis.

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Harris was arrested then on charges of trafficking in fentanyl and cocaine as well as attempted sale of fentanyl. He was still in the Volusia County jail Wednesday when a grand jury returned indictments charging him with death by unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and sale of fentanyl.

He remains in the Volusia County jail on no bond.

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