4 charged with manslaughter in connection with fentanyl death in Alabama

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (WPMI) — When police officers stopped a car with four passengers in Alabama on Saturday night, it was no random stop. They knew exactly who they were looking for.

Moments earlier, a family member had discovered a woman who had taken a lethal dose of fentanyl.

Investigators said clues from cellphone conversations alerted Baldwin County Drug Enforcement Units to the four people in the car.

Then, said Baldwin Assistant District Attorney Patrick Doggett, they found something else in the car.

“After making the stop, they were able to find more fentanyl in the car and on one individual,” Doggett said. “One of the individuals was arrested and during the subsequent investigation they were able to determine that they had indeed given fentanyl to the deceased.”

Police said 27-year-old Gerald Lee Anderson III and 25-year-old Malia Autumn Decautur, both of Spanish Fort, as well as 32-year-old Roshell Michael Benson of Brewton and 22-year-old Madison Lee Hayek of Silverhill were all charged under a new Alabama law that allows the prosecution of people who deliver drugs that lead to an overdose death. It’s the first time in Baldwin County and perhaps the entire state.

If convicted, each suspect faces up to 20 years in prison.

“All four of them were involved in obtaining the fentanyl from a supplier,” Doggett said. “They were able to trace that and determine that they all knew why they were in the car together to obtain the drugs and why they drove to the deceased’s residence and gave her the drugs.”

Doggett said the arrests were made quickly due to the county’s drug task force’s quick response and the medical examiner’s office’s rapid analysis using a brand new technology called Randox, which allows investigators to take a swab from the victim and get a quick analysis for a specific list of drugs.

This is followed by a confirmation check by the state.

This may be the first use of this new amendment to the manslaughter law that directly targets fentanyl, but prosecutors have announced further cases.

“Absolutely. Anyone involved in spreading this poison in our communities will be held accountable.”

Both Benson and Anderson were already out on bail after being charged with serious crimes and will face a bail revocation hearing in Fairhope on Wednesday.

Hyack was already out on bail on a fentanyl charge. She has already missed one court date and is now being held without bail.