ENTERPRISE- Two Coffee County Jail inmates now face manslaughter charges in connection with two separate Fentanyl-related deaths, 12th Judicial Circuit District Attorney James Tarbox announced at a news conference Tuesday morning.
Tarbox held the press conference at the State Bureau of Investigation Regional Office in Enterprise, alongside Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Mitchell, Lt. David McGowan from the SBI, Enterprise Police Chief Michael Moore, EPD Investigator Mark Anderson, Coffee County Sheriff Scott Byrd, CCSO Chief Deputy Michael Hines, and Coffee County Coroner Arnold Woodham.
Manslaughter charges
Coffee County Jail inmates Michael Joseph Stroncone, 37, and Jashun Jaiqueze Jones, 28, are charged with manslaughter in connection with the deaths of Eric Nathaniel Hicks, and Harrison Parker, respectively.
The manslaughter charges were made possible due to a state law passed during the 2023 legislative session that allows for the charge of manslaughter when a person provides Fentanyl or a drug containing Fentanyl to a person who takes the drug and then dies of an overdose, Tarbox explained. "The law at that time had a technical defect and in 2024 the legislature fixed the law and the manslaughter charge for a fentanyl overdoes became effective April 23 of this year," he said.
15 Fentanyl deaths
Since late August there have been approximately 15 Fentanyl overdose deaths in Coffee and Pike counties, Tarbox said. "Per standard protocols toxicology and/or full autopsies have been conducted on each death and in every instance the deceased person's blood has contained Fentanyl and Xylazine, also known as Tranq, a large-animal sedative."
The addition of Xylazine to Fentanyl creates a significantly stronger impact on the body and makes it much less likely that Narcan and other medicines meant to stop overdoes will be successful, Tarbox said.
Tarbox said that Sept. 11, EPD responded to the Enterprise residence of Harrison Parker who was pronounced dead at 2:13 a.m. Based on cellphone evidence and interviews, it was determined that there was probable cause to arrest Jones for providing the Fentanyl taken by Parker that caused his death. Jones was arrested at the Coffee County Jail, where he was being held on a separate charge, and charged with manslaughter in Parker's death
In early October, in an unrelated case, Coffee County Jail staff found 37-year-old Eric Nathaniel Hicks "unresponsive" in his cell. Hicks had been dead for several hours before he was found, Tarbox said. "Jail staff and sheriff's deputies followed protocols and procedures and requested medics from Enterprise Rescue," said Tarbox. The State Bureau of Investigation was called in to investigate, in accordance with protocol, and an oral swab drug test conducted on Hicks proved positive for Fentanyl.
The investigation revealed that Stroncone had been arrested on Oct. 3 and after being booked into the jail was placed in the cell with Hicks, Tarbox said. "Unfortunately, Stroncone was able to sneak multiple fentanyl pills into the jail undetected (during in processing)," he said. "He provided some of these pills to Hicks who ingested them. An autopsy concluded that Hicks' cause of death was Fentanyl and Xylazine toxicity."
Stroncone was arrested for manslaughter and promoting prison contraband on Dec. 13 at the jail where he was already incarcerated on unrelated charges. "I want to be clear that the sheriff's office has been nothing but transparent and fully cooperative in this matter," Tarbox said.
Purpose of the press conference
The purpose of the press conference Tuesday was not only to announce the two arrests but also, Tarbox said:
*To inform the public that we are not letting these overdose deaths go and that law enforcement is doing the best they can to investigate, which has led to these two arrests announced Tuesday
*To inform the public that Fentanyl is dangerous enough on its own. When mixed with Xylazine it is an indiscriminate killer. "If one person changes their mind about taking Fentanyl, then this press conference was worth it," Tarbox said.
*To send a message to the drug dealers in this area: "If you decide to deal Fentanyl and it causes someone to die of an overdose, law enforcement will work the case. They will track you. They will do everything they can to develop probable cause and arrest you," Tarbox said. "When they do, our office will do everything to get you sent where you belong -- straight to prison.
"I am sick and tired of people dying," Tarbox said, issuing a warning to drug dealers. "We will follow you to hell and back if it means we can hold you accountable for dealing this poison."
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