A Williamson County man has been sentenced to a 30-year term for selling fentanyl that led to a fatal overdose, marking the county's first murder conviction under a new Texas fentanyl law. Marek Dillard received this sentence on March 3 for the death of 22-year-old Remington Allison, who died in Leander in September 2023 due to a fentanyl overdose. As reported by CBS Austin, the case represents the initial application of House Bill 6, which took effect on September 1, 2023, and enables murder charges to be filed against individuals who distribute fentanyl, consequently resulting in a death.
"By sharing this outcome, we hope it sends a clear message to dealers in our area – if you distribute fentanyl and it costs someone their life, you will be held responsible," the Williamson County Sheriff's Office was cited saying in a statement obtained by CBS Austin. On September 21, 2023, Deputies responded to the scene of Allison's death, where evidence was found to suggest he had been provided with fentanyl-laced narcotics. Deepening their investigation, authorities secured a murder warrant for Dillard on February 6, 2024, swiftly culminating in his arrest just three days later.
Further details were revealed in an affidavit that disclosed a video showing Allison "exhibiting signs of being under the influence of narcotics," as per KVUE. The video also captured Allison in what was described as a "drug-induced daze" before collapsing on the kitchen floor, where his life ended. A search of Allison's phone turned up a text exchange between Allison and Dillard from the previous day, where Dillard had offered him 25 "blues," a slang term for pills containing fentanyl.
The ramifications of this case are unfolding under the shadow of House Bill 6, signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott back in June 2023, which "creates a criminal offense of murder for supplying fentanyl that results in death, enhances the criminal penalty for the manufacturing or delivery of fentanyl, and requires deaths caused by fentanyl to be designated as fentanyl toxicity or fentanyl poisoning on a death certificate," according to details from KVUE. In the wake of this legal precedent, the sheriff's office stated their continual dedication to holding fentanyl distributors to account and to protect communities from the pernicious effects of this deadly drug.
