By Michelle Hunter
The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate
Gretna, La. — A Marrero man jailed in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center for missing a court hearing now faces a murder charge for allegedly supplying the fentanyl that led to another inmate’s overdose death, court records show.
Dwight Bevley, 40, was booked Thursday with second-degree murder in the death of 25-year-old Jyvariel Harvey.
Harvey, of Geismar, was being housed in the intake-booking section of the Gretna jail on the morning of May 11 when he lost consciousness, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, which operates the facility.
Medical staffers gave Harvey Narcan, a medication used to treat opioid overdoses, and he was taken to the hospital, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Within an hour of Harvey’s overdose, a second inmate in the same holding cell fell ill. He, too, was taken to the hospital to be treated for a suspected overdose, authorities said.
The holding cell and all of the inmates housed there were searched. Bevley, who was being held at the Gretna jail for missing a May 2 court hearing, was later rearrested and booked with fentanyl distribution, having contraband in the correctional center and obstruction of justice, according to authorities.
Fentanyl is an oft-abused prescription pain-management drug that is more potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
The second inmate was treated and released from the hospital on the same day. But Harvey remained hospitalized for two weeks until his death on May 26.
Toxicology testing determined that Harvey died of acute fentanyl toxicity, according to the Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office. Bevley was booked with murder after the toxicology testing was completed.
Authorities have not said how they suspect Bevley obtained the drugs. He was being held at the jail Tuesday with bail set at $650,000.
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