18-year-old charged with murder in fentanyl death of Texas teen
DENTON - An 18-year-old faces a murder charge after a 17-year-old died from a fentanyl overdose in Denton.
On Sept. 25, Denton police officers were called to the 7500 block of Barrymore Road for an overdose They found 17-year-old Ryan Erwin unconscious. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Erwin's cause of death as combined fentanyl and diphenhydramine toxicity.
Detectives found evidence that Erwin bought fentanyl from 18-year-old Zakkary McReynolds on the morning of his death.
On Tuesday, Jan. 16, Denton PD, the Denton County Sheriff's Office, and the US Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force arrested McReynolds and charged him with murder.
This is the third fentanyl murder arrest in Denton since the new state law created a criminal offense of murder for supplying fentanyl that results in death, which went into effect on Sept. 1, 2023.
McReynolds is currently in the Denton Jail. No bail has been set.