Stephens County jail fentanyl overdose leads to charges for two

DUNCAN — An October 2023 fentanyl overdose at the Stephens County jail has led to arrest warrants for a pair of Duncan men accused of supplying the drug to the inmate.

The Stephens County District Court issued felony arrest warrants Tuesday for Abraham Morales, 34, and Bernardo Crispin Jr., 31, for charges of distribution of controlled substance after two or more felony convictions and possession of contraband by an inmate, records indicate.

The investigation began after an inmate at the jail was found unconscious and his face and feet were turning blue on Oct. 4, 2022. EMTs arrived and two doses of Narcan were administered and a few minutes later, the inmate became responsive and able to talk, the probable cause affidavit states. He was admitted to Duncan Regional Hospital.

The inmate told Stephens County Sheriff’s Investigator Timothy Vann he wasn’t sure where the drugs came from. He said it was a small rock he received from Morales who’d asked him if he wanted to try some fentanyl, the affidavit states. He said he took it and it was nearly instant “lights out,” Vann stated.

Surveillance video showed Morales speak to someone unseen on the camera before later meeting the inmate and going into a cell before closing the door. Six minutes later, the inmate came out and appeared “hyperactive” and unsteady on his feet before stumbling back to the cell, the affidavit states. Ten minutes later another inmate kicked the pod door and multiple inmates carried the unresponsive man down the stairs to the door.

During questioning, Vann stated Morales was “evasive” and “argumentative” and didn’t answer questions.

Crispin was interviewed and said he knew, “A.B.” (Morales’ nickname) from school but that he didn’t bring any drugs into jail. When taken back to the jail, a plastic baggy containing what field tested for opiates was recovered in his underwear, according to the affidavit.

The inmate who was in the cell with Morales and the overdosed man told Vann that Morales produced a clear plastic bag and gave him and the other man a small rock of fentanyl, the affidavit states.