HOUSTON, TX (Covering Katy News) – A man who lives near two schools in Katy is charged with Fentanyl Murder by Delivery after prosecutors say he sold the drug to a 16-year-old boy who overdosed and died September 15, 2023.
The victim is white and described only by his initials of C.R. in the court document.
The accused man is Omarion Bailey, 24, who lives in the Raintree Village subdivision. His house is close to Morton Ranch High School and just a short walk from Franz Elementary, but prosecutors say the deadly drug deal happened in West Houston, not in Katy.
The teenage victim's family told KTRK's Courtney Carpenter that the boy was a "true light in the world." He was the third of five children and was "one of a kind with a great sense of humor," according to his family.
Bailey faces a murder charge because a new law passed by the Texas Legislature and signed by Governor Abbott allows him to be held responsible for selling the drug that killed the teenager.
Texas House Bill 6, explicitly targets the fentanyl trade. It allows a drug dealer to be charged with murder for providing a fatal dose of fentanyl, even if the fentanyl is mixed with other deadly drugs. If Bailey is convicted, the new law says he must serve at least 15 years in prison.
This law was also used back in November, when an inmate in the Harris County Jail was accused of passing fentanyl to fellow inmate Christian Rayo, who died after taking it.
The Legislature is targeting the fentanyl trade because the drug is so deadly.
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"It's incredibly dangerous, it's heartbreaking, it's ruining every family that has to go through this," said Garret Moore, chief narcotics officer for District Attorney Kim Ogg. "It's just horrible to lose a child, to lose a loved one," Moore told KPRC reporter Mario Diaz.
Prosecutors will use the facts of the case to portray Baily as eager to do what it takes to sell drugs to kids. The boy apparently could not afford the drug, so Bailey accepted a mix of cash and a video game as payment.
"The decedent had some cash and also a PlayStation and traded for the narcotics," Moore told KPRC.
Bailey was born in 1999, and by 2016, he was building his criminal record with charges that included assault with bodily injury, assault on a family member, terroristic threats, driving while intoxicated, retaliation, and stalking. Six of the cases are active, and one is a drug case.
Prosecutors say the Katy man used social media to connect with Cooper. The details of how that happened are likely to come out at trial.
When this story was published, Bailey was still behind bars, unable to post bond. The bond is $250,000, but that can change, and elected Harris County judges have a track record of lowering bonds for violent offenders. If he gets out of jail he'll likely return to his Katy home.
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Bailey returns to court January 26, 2024 for his next hearing. It is the next opportunity for his attorney to request a lower bond from a Harris County Court system with a track record of releasing violent offenders back on the street while they await trail, which is often several years after the crime.