HARALSON COUNTY — A Carrollton woman has been arrested on felony murder charges after deputies said a man overdosed and died after ingesting the methamphetamine she gave to him.
The Haralson County Sheriff’s Office said Jessica Marie Johnson, 44, was arrested Thursday.
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Deputies said that on April 2, 2021, they got a psychiatric call about a man who was acting out of control and trying to fight the air. First responders took 33-year-old Dennis Raines to the hospital, where he died.
The autopsy revealed that Raines died of methamphetamine toxicity.
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The Haralson Paulding Drug Task Force were able to determine that Johnson distributed the meth to Raines. She was arrested and charged with distribution of meth.
A grand jury indicted Johnson on distribution of meth and felony murder charges in August.
When Johnson was taken into custody Thursday in Carroll County, officers found that she had more meth in multiple clear bags. She will face additional charges in Carroll County for those drugs.
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“Last year, I started seeing other jurisdictions in Georgia hold the drug dealers responsible for overdose deaths and I started the conversation with our District Attorneys’ Office,” Sheriff Stacy Williams said. “Those that bring illegal drugs into our communities that cause deaths will be held responsible when we can prove who has distributed those drugs. This is our first case of this nature, and it is only the beginning.”
Williams said that from now on, the county will prosecute drug dealers who sell drugs to a user who ends up dying.
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