Mesa woman arrested, accused of violating new law after man died of fentanyl overdose
A woman named Cruzita Leon was arrested and charged with various crimes, including sale of lethal fentanyl, on Wednesday, authorities said.
Cruzita Leon, pictured above, was accused of selling fentanyl that led to a man's death last year. (Photos via Mesa Police Department)
(Photos via Mesa Police Department)
PHOENIX — A 34-year-old woman has been arrested in connection to a man’s death from acute fentanyl intoxication, the Mesa Police Department announced Thursday.
Cruzita Leon was booked into jail on Wednesday for multiple felony charges, including the sale of lethal fentanyl, police said.
She is the first person to be arrested for violating A.R.S. § 13-3408, a law that went into effect in November 2024, police said. This law made knowingly selling a drug containing fentanyl, which later leads to a person’s death, a class-two felony.
Woman in Mesa arrest accused of violating sale of lethal fentanyl law
The sale of lethal fentanyl law went into effect one month before 49-year-old Ted Gordon died.
After his death, his family found text messages between him and Cruz arranging for a fentanyl sale, according to the Mesa Police Department.
The two agreed that Gordon would buy $330 for five grams of fentanyl powder, according to court documents.
He was later found unresponsive in the area of Hawes Road and Southern Avenue on Nov. 27, which was the same day Gordon and Cruz allegedly planned to meet for the drug trade.
Suspect faces other counts in addition to count of violating sale of lethal fentanyl law
Detectives with Mesa Police later set up several sales in which she sold fentanyl pills to undercover authorities, according to court documents.
She is facing several charges, according to court documents:
- One count of manslaughter.
- One count of sale of lethal fentanyl.
- Three counts of transporting narcotic drugs.
- Three counts of possessing narcotic drugs for sale.
- Three counts of possessing narcotic drugs.
- Three counts of possessing drug paraphernalia.
- Three counts of using electronic communication in a drug-related transaction.
She was held on a $500,000 bond, according to police.
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Comments
6 Comments
China makes it , Mexicans bake it.
The reason criminals are making so much money selling fentanyl is because so many Americans are buying it. If these customers die at the hands of the product they crave, sparing everyone who knows better, seems to me this is a self-limiting “crisis” that doesn’t justify asking the rest of us to forfeit our civil rights in the name of the “war on drugs.”
Becky Thatcher's fence often has less whitewash when it comes to the partisan efforts of minimizing bad behavior.