Santa Cruz man sentenced to 10 years in prison for giving fentanyl drugs to a 16-year-old girl

A California man who gave Percocet with fentanyl and other drugs to a 16-year-old girl who died of an overdose was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years on Tuesday.

Michael James Russell, 24, was convicted of seven felonies in connection with the death of 16-year-old Emma Lace Price, who died on November 12 with four separate drugs in her system.

Prosecutors said Russell gave Price Xanax and Percocet laced with fentanyl and when she began to overdose he took off her clothes and put her in a cold shower to wake her up. He also gave her Narcan but waited half an hour to call 911.

In August, Price’s parents filed a civil lawsuit against Russell and his parents. alleging that the man had a “history of taking advantage of young/underage girls and providing them with drugs.” They also allege that his parents were aware of this and allowed ‘sex and drugs’ in his home.

In an interview last fall, Jill Price, the girl’s mother, said “it’s killing me right now, I feel an anger I’ve never felt before” regarding her death.

an initial investigation on the girl’s death, he discovered that Russell was one of multiple people who gave Price medication in the days leading up to her death.

The night she died, Russell had given her Xanax and Percocet mixed with fentanyl, causing her to overdose.

Emma later died of acute fentanyl toxicity, according to the autopsy.

Investigations by local journalists found that the girl’s death may have been entirely preventable.

Six weeks before Price’s death, the Watsonville Police Department received a call from a girl who said Russell had harassed her and sold Percocet with fentanyl to another girl who died.

Watsonville is located just 10 miles from the Corralito home where Price was found dead and is in Santa Cruz County.

The girl said the police dismissed her claims as ‘former drama’.

Watsonville police said nbc Bay Area in July support the actions of the response officer.

Despite that claim, Russell was not directly charged with the girl’s death.

The Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office considered additional charges but said it could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he is guilty of her death, according to local reports.

In 2022, Emma’s father, Michael Price, said he hoped more charges would be added to the man’s case.

‘I would like [like to see] murder or manslaughter [charges],’ he said nbc bay area.

The local television station spoke with Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, who said at the time that state prosecutors were beginning to crack down on murder and manslaughter charges only in certain cases.

“When we can show that the drug dealer knew how dangerous fentanyl was, knew that people could die from using only a small amount or using it once and selling it anyway to put profit before human life,” Rosen said. .

In a statement to NBC Bay Area in 2022, Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Johanna Schonfield said she could not speak about the details of the case, but said the department is working to increase awareness and education.

‘Death for me is too late for [it to be] the focus, be the emphasis; the tragedy has already happened,’ he said.

‘I think the emphasis should be higher… Why do people use drugs to begin with? Why do children actively engage in drug-seeking behavior online?’ said the assistant prosecutor.

Schonfield also said his main focus is stopping future incidents and putting those responsible behind bars.

“We are holding drug dealers accountable. The Prosecutor’s Office is committed to the search for justice,’ she said.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department initially faced backlash for its handling of the case.

In July, six officers and detectives appeared in court to detail the events of Price’s death and it was revealed that it took four days for them to qualify the girl’s death as suspicious.

Two of the sheriff’s crime scene investigators said they were not assigned until days after his overdose when his The body had already been removed from the scene, witnesses had left, and prosecutors claimed evidence might have been tampered with and destroyed.

“I think this actually rises to the title of gross police misconduct. This is an investigation that was not treated seriously from the start,” said retired San Jose Police Detective Michael Leininger.

‘[Deputies] showed a high level of indifference in this investigation, the likes of which I have never seen,’ he said.

One of the items that could have been tampered with was Price’s phone, which Price may have attempted to destroy.

Prosecutors later added a destruction of evidence charge to his case.

Russell has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges.

In August, Michael and Jill Price filed a civil lawsuit against Russell and his parents, directly accusing them of being responsible for their daughter’s death.

In the civil lawsuit, Price’s mother and father allege that “Lace Price suffered an acute drug overdose as a result of the fentanyl-laced narcotics Mikey Russell provided her with.”

The lawsuit goes on to accuse Russell’s parents of knowing that their son “had a history of taking advantage of young/underage girls” and allowing “sex and drugs” in their home.

“Lace Price’s parents filed this civil lawsuit to get the full story of what happened to their young daughter, to prevent it from happening to another, and to hold responsible parties accountable,” attorney Lesley Harris said in a statement.

“Lace’s parents want and deserve to know what happened,” Harris said.

The next hearing in that case is scheduled for March 6.