A man already locked up in the St. Johns County Jail on drug trafficking charges is now accused of trying to arrange the murder of the very witness set to testify against him. Dustin Furnal, 42, faces new charges of solicitation to commit murder and tampering in a first-degree felony proceeding, according to investigators, after detectives say he plotted to have the witness fatally overdosed.
According to actionnewsjax.com, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office filed the additional charges after Special Investigations Unit detectives said Furnal was communicating with another individual to organize the murder of a person scheduled to testify against him. As reported by News4JAX, detectives discovered the alleged plot after reviewing hours of recorded conversations, jail calls and visitation recordings between Furnal and the other person.
Detectives say the alleged scheme centered on cash and drugs rather than a weapon. The station's report indicates Furnal was communicating with another individual to organize the murder, with investigators piecing the plan together from the jailhouse recordings.
An Alleged $10,000 Offer and a Fentanyl-Laced Plan
Prosecutors allege Furnal offered $10,000 to have the informant killed by overdose, per sjcitizen.com. The outlet reports the plan was to give the informant methamphetamine laced with fentanyl to cause a fatal overdose, an allegation that remains unproven in court.
The case traces back further than this month's new charges. In September, a fellow inmate told Sheriff's Office detectives that Furnal had asked for help arranging the killing once that inmate was released, sjcitizen.com reported. The same account notes that Furnal's original arrest stemmed in part from a drug purchase in May that involved the informant.
Prior Drug and Weapons Charges Still Pending
Furnal has been incarcerated in St. Johns County since June on a separate set of felony charges, including trafficking in fentanyl, trafficking in methamphetamine, and conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine, according to actionnewsjax.com. He also faces a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, per News4JAX, meaning the solicitation and tampering counts are layered on top of an already substantial drug case.
Furnal's bond was revoked on October 17, and he remains in custody at the St. Johns County Jail without bond, the sheriff's office said. He is scheduled to return to court on November 4, when the new charges are expected to be addressed alongside the pending drug and weapons case.
Broader Pattern in Florida Jails
Furnal's case is not the only recent instance of an inmate accused of trying to silence a witness from behind bars. A separate report from FOX 35 Orlando described a Lake County inmate who was scheduled to be released but instead faced new charges after investigators said he tried to hire another inmate to kill a key witness in one of his pending criminal cases.
Under Florida law, tampering with a witness can carry serious consequences even outside a murder-for-hire scenario; state statute classifies harassing a witness, victim or informant in a case involving a misdemeanor as a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable under sections 775.082 or 775.083, according to The Florida Senate. Separate statutory language addressed by the Florida Senate notes that a person who solicits another to commit an offense can avoid certain consequences only by persuading that person not to go through with it or otherwise preventing the offense from occurring, underscoring how seriously the law treats solicitation itself, not just a completed act. Furnal's case remains open, and the allegations against him have not been adjudicated.
