A man is charged with murder in the fentanyl death of a young man in Fort Worth.
Fort Worth Police said 21-year-old Ramiro Limon was charged with murder, permitted by the passing of HB 6 in Texas during May 2023.
A grieving mother and father spoke to NBC 5 about their loss and what they hope comes from this case.
Mayra Uribe said she knew something was wrong when her son, Matthew Teran, didn’t come down for breakfast on the morning of Nov. 6, 2023.
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“I just had that feeling that something was not right,” she said. “So, I ran to get the key that opens all the doors, and I just found him. I found him and kind of lost it.”
She said she jumped into action and started CPR while Matthew’s sister dialed 911.
“It was just a nightmare. An entire nightmare,” Uribe said.
Matthew never regained consciousness. At just 21, he died of a fentanyl overdose. Now, four months later, there’s been an arrest.
Fort Worth Police released a statement to NBC 5 that reads in part:
“FWPD Narcotics officers developed probable cause to charge Ramiro Limon under the new fentanyl murder statute for delivering fentanyl to a person who died from ingesting it.”
House Bill 6 created a criminal offense of murder for supplying fentanyl that resulted in death. The bill also requires deaths caused by fentanyl to be designated as ‘fentanyl toxicity’ or ‘fentanyl poisoning’ on a death certificate.
Uribe said Matthew struggled in the past with substance abuse, but he’d been working for months on his sobriety and doing well.
“His heart was just compassionate for everybody and anybody,” she said.
Both Matthew’s mother and father told NBC 5 he knew Limon, the person police say supplied him with the fentanyl.
“What’s fair is fair,” said Uribe. “Whatever the law is to crack down on these people. If the method’s going to work, then I’m for it.”
As for Matthew, his father said he wants to hold on to the good memories.
“He was strong. He fought,” said Oscar Teran. “Remember him. The impact he did to every person he spoke to, every heart he touched, remember him that way.”
Fort Worth Police told NBC 5 the case has been forwarded to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.
WHAT IS FENTANYL?
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Just two milligrams of fentanyl, which is equal to 10-15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose.
Without laboratory testing, there is no way to know how much fentanyl is concentrated in a pill or powder. If you encounter fentanyl in any form, do not handle it and call 911 immediately.
Fentanyl remains the deadliest drug threat facing this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 107,622 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, with 66% of those deaths related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
Drug poisonings are the leading killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. Fentanyl available in the United States is primarily supplied by two criminal drug networks, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
WHAT IS RAINBOW FENTANYL?
In August 2022 the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public advisory about the alarming emerging trend of colorful fentanyl available nationwide.
Brightly-colored fentanyl, dubbed "rainbow fentanyl" in the media, is being seized in multiple forms, including pills, powder, and blocks that resemble sidewalk chalk.
“Rainbow fentanyl—fentanyl pills and powder that come in a variety of bright colors, shapes, and sizes—is a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “The men and women of the DEA are relentlessly working to stop the trafficking of rainbow fentanyl and defeat the Mexican drug cartels that are responsible for the vast majority of the fentanyl that is being trafficked in the United States.”
Despite claims that certain colors may be more potent than others, there is no indication through DEA’s laboratory testing that this is the case. The DEA said every color, shape, and size of fentanyl should be considered extremely dangerous.
