Docs: Indianapolis man supplied fentanyl-laced drugs that triggered fatal overdose

INDIANAPOLIS - Police believe an Indianapolis man supplied fentanyl-laced drugs that triggered a fatal overdose in 2022.




According to an affidavit for probable cause filed on Monday, first responders from multiple agencies found Tyler Rugg lying face down on a bed inside a residence in Lawrence on July 24, 2022. Medics tried to resuscitate Rugg for 20 minutes, but he was ultimately pronounced dead.




Police located nine bars of a substance they suspected was Xanax under a pillow on the bed they found Rugg lying on.




The Marion County Coroner's Office conducted testing on Rugg's body and determined Rugg's death was caused by fentanyl intoxication.




As police's investigation into Rugg's death continued, they obtained and analyzed Rugg's cell phone.




The analysis of Rugg's phone revealed a conversation between Rugg and a person listed in his phone's contact list as "Jerm." Police later determined that the phone number attached to Jerm's contact in Rugg's phone belongs to 31-year-old Jerami Berry of Indianapolis.




In their report on the incident, investigators provided more than 17 photos of a text chain Berry and Rugg engaged in. The chain appears to show Rugg and Berry setting up a date and time for a drug exchange.




At one point during the conversation, Rugg indicated that he had taken the drugs Berry allegedly supplied. Rugg wrote, "it kinda feels like I took a perc lol."




Berry then responded and asked Rugg if it felt like fentanyl.




Berry sent eight unanswered messages to Rugg after he asked if the drugs felt like they contained fentanyl.




According to court records, Berry also called Rugg numerous times between 2:26 p.m. and 7:18 p.m. on July 24, 2022. Rugg answered Berry's first call, but their conversation only lasted two seconds.




The following six calls Berry made to Rugg went unanswered. Rugg's family indicated he was last known to be alive at 4 p.m. on July 24, 2022. Medics officially pronounced him dead at 6:17 p.m. on that date.




Upon further investigation of Berry's background, law enforcement determined that he had previously been on probation in several counties, including Marion, Boone and Johnson. Court documents did not specify exactly why Berry had been on probation in three different counties.




Per the affidavit, Berry has been preliminarily charged with dealing a controlled substance resulting in death.




As of this article's publication, no additional information on Berry's dealing resulting in death case had been made available.





via: https://fox59.com/news/docs-indianapolis-man-supplied-fentanyl-laced-drugs-that-triggered-fatal-overdose/