A Placer County jury on Tuesday convicted 44-year-old Brandon Garner of second-degree murder in connection with a July 2023 fentanyl overdose death, marking another case in the county where fatal fentanyl sales are prosecuted as homicide. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 23 at the Auburn courthouse.
Details from the courtroom
According to CBS Sacramento, the Placer County District Attorney's Office said jurors concluded the victim died after allegedly receiving fentanyl from Garner. Prosecutors told the court that the death occurred in July 2023 and that Garner was arrested after an investigation by the Placer Special Investigations Unit, a multi-agency task force. The DA's office told CBS the verdict marks the county's fourth murder conviction tied to fentanyl distribution.
Placer's 'One Pill Can Kill' push
The district attorney's office has paired public-education efforts with aggressive prosecutions and says it will go after dealers whose sales prove deadly, according to the Placer County District Attorney's Office. In a prior county news release, Morgan Gire warned: "For anyone thinking of selling fentanyl in our county, I have one message for you: we will find you and we will hold you accountable." Placer's materials also describe a Special Investigations Unit that includes the sheriff's office, local police departments, probation and the California Department of Justice.
How this case fits
Placer has secured several high-profile fentanyl convictions in recent years, including a December 2024 sentence of 20 years to life in the death of Roseville resident Kade Webb, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Prosecutors say those earlier cases helped shape the legal strategy now being used against dealers accused of selling potentially lethal pills.
What happens next
Garner faces a March 23 sentencing hearing in Auburn. Under Placer County's recent prosecutions, similar convictions have resulted in prison terms ranging from 15 years to life to 20 years to life, county records and reporting show. The DA's office and local media point to the 15-years-to-life sentence in the Cabacungan case and the 20-to-life term in the Schewe case as examples of how the county is handling fatal fentanyl sales. Court records will ultimately determine Garner's punishment when he returns to court next month.
