UPDATE: The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office says Timothy Wolfe pleaded not guilty Friday to the charges during his arraignment in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court. He is due back in court at a later date and remains behind bars at San Luis Obispo County Jail where he was booked Thursday with bail set at $1 million.
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ORIGINAL STORY: A Paso Robles man is facing murder and other charges following the death of an Atascadero teen who reportedly died of a fentanyl overdose.
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow says the murder charge and other felony charges of possessing and selling drugs were filed Wednesday against Timothy Clark Wolfe, 22.
Dow says Wolfe sold the 19-year-old victim three counterfeit pills appearing to be 30 milligram Percocet, which is reportedly a mixture of oxycodone and acetaminophen, but the pills instead contained fentanyl.
The powerful synthetic opioid is known to be 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
Dow says the teen died March 9 from fentanyl intoxication after taking one pill.
Wolfe was charged with murder because the DA's office says it's believed that when the pills were sold, the suspect knew or should have known they contained fentanyl.
"Buying and selling illicit prescription drugs on the street is deadly dangerous. While a purchaser may believe they are buying a pharmaceutical-grade painkiller, there is no way to know who made them, where they came from, or what is in them. Sadly, as happens too often, it leads to overdose and death," said District Attorney Dan Dow in a press release. "We will not tolerate the criminal distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and other hard drugs because too many young people have been dying across our country and here in our community. Individuals who knowingly sell these deadly pills in our community will be aggressively prosecuted and when the facts support it, they will be charged with murder."
Dow says Wolfe does not face any charges related to manufacturing the counterfeit drugs.
Wolfe, who jail logs show was booked into San Luis Obispo County Jail Wednesday afternoon, is expected to be arraigned Friday in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.
The police investigation, being led by the Atascadero Police Department, is ongoing.
