A man convicted of felony murder will face a life sentence after dealing deadly drugs laced with fentanyl, a first in the history of Gwinnett County, officials say.
Eric Denver Moore pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of felony murder in the 2019 death of Barth Alan Moser, Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson, several police chiefs and other county officials announced during a Friday news conference.
“This marks the first time that the prosecution world, particularly here in Gwinnett, has gone after street-level dealers who are peddling poison on our streets,” said Assistant District Attorney Brandon Delfunt. “The people that we’re targeting are individuals who were promised one thing but they delivered something different.”
Moser, 50, thought he was only purchasing heroin from Moore but it was laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to Delfunt.
Moser noticed a green tint to the heroin he purchased and told Moore in a text message that he’d be angry if it made him sick, Delfunt said. The Grayson resident and father of two children died in July 2019 after taking the drug.
Credit: Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office
Credit: Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office
Moore’s guilty plea came on the first day of his trial during jury selection, Delfunt said. The Lawrenceville resident had already pleaded guilty to transporting heroin, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug-related objects prior to trial.
The number of fentanyl-involved deaths in Georgia climbed to alarming levels during the pandemic. The body count doubled from 2019 to 2020, according to data from the state’s public health department.
Gwinnett County Medical Examiner Carol Terry said she noticed fentanyl-related deaths begin to surface in 2014. Her office now examines at least one overdose case nearly each day, she said.
Fentanyl played a role in 60% of all drug-related deaths in the county in 2020, according to medical examiner’s office records obtained by the AJC. Seventy people died from fentanyl-related overdoses in 2020, compared to 26 in 2019.
“We are approximately 150 reported (drug-related) deaths ahead of last year, and last year we ended the year almost 200 deaths ahead of the year before,” Terry said. “... Fentanyl is a fine drug when it’s used appropriately in a medical setting. But when used recreationally, it’s deadly.”
Credit: Tyler Wilkins
Credit: Tyler Wilkins
Several street drugs — cocaine, heroin, meth and even marijuana — can be laced with fentanyl. Counterfeit pills peddled by drug dealers that look like Xanax or Percocet can also contain fatal amounts of the synthetic opioid.
The sharpened tips of one or two pencils roughly equates to a deadly dose of fentanyl, Robert Murphy, a special agent with the Atlanta division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Nearly every law enforcement agency within Gwinnett County banded together to investigate Moser’s death and Moore’s involvement. There are currently seven other defendants in the county facing felony murder charges related to selling heroin or other substances that contained fentanyl, Delfunt said.
“We will do our best to fight against this,” Austin-Gatson said. “... This has got to stop. It’s costing lives, rupturing families and impacting them so severely. It’s a rip in our community right now.”
In an immediate emergency, call 911. If you or a loved one struggles with substance abuse, you can call the Georgia Crisis and Access Line at 1-800-715-4225.
Naloxone can be purchased over-the-counter in Georgia without a prescription. Laws exist that protect people from prosecution who call seeking help in the event of an overdose.
There are several symptoms of fentanyl overdose, including nausea, vomiting, cold and clammy skin, blue-colored lips and fingernails, slowed or stopped breathing and decreased heart rate.
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