Morgan deputies looking at fentanyl in overdose case, warrant states


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MORGAN — A synthetic opioid 50 times stronger than heroin may be to blame for the near fatal overdose of a Morgan County teen recently.

On March 31, a 17-year-old boy bought a yellow pill from Parker Lewis Pentz, 19, of Croydon, ingested half of it when he returned home and overdosed, according to charging documents.

Pentz was later charged in 2nd District Court with drug distribution, two counts of drug possession with intent to distribute and child endangerment resulting in serious injury, all second-degree felonies.

Investigators have been trying to figure out since the incident what drug was sold to the teen.

According to two newly unsealed search warrants from 2nd District Court, the 17-year-old thought he was buying an Adderall pill from Pentz. After he "consumed half of the pill and overdosed and had to be revived by Morgan EMS and sheriff deputies," he was rushed to a hospital where "a toxicology report indicated traces of fentanyl," the warrant states.

A final confirmation of what the teen ingested was unknown Monday, pending results from the State Crime Lab. The Morgan County Sheriff's Office confirmed Monday that fentanyl was one of the possibilities being investigated.

Fentanyl is 50 times more powerful than heroin and cheaper to purchase. There has also been a spike in fentanyl-related deaths across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the CDC, "increases in synthetic opioid-involved deaths (nationwide) are being driven by increases in fentanyl-involved overdose deaths."

"Fentanyl is killing more people than heroin in many parts of the country. And the death toll will likely keep growing," the Pew Charitable Trusts group wrote in 2016.

Before actually purchasing the pill, "Parker told (the teen) to wait until his package arrived in the mail from the deep web. Parker told (the teen) that he orders pills on the deep web and has them shipped to his residence in Croyden."

According to a return to one of two search warrants served by the Morgan County Sheriff's Office, deputies searching Pentz's house found empty plastic pill capsules, various test tubes with some substances sent to the Utah State Crime Lab for testing while others field tested positive for methamphetamine, cocaine, as well as drug paraphernalia.

A preliminary hearing for Pentz was scheduled for June 21.

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Pat Reavy

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