A Santa Clarita man was charged with dealing a drug three times more powerful than fentanyl, causing one fatal overdose, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Arraigned on Wednesday, Benjamin Anthony Collins, 21, was charged with one count of distribution of protonitazene that resulted in what the DOJ says could be the nation’s first death-resulting criminal case involving this narcotic.
The indictment alleges Collins knowingly and intentionally dealt protonitazene to a victim in the early morning hours of April 19, 2024. The DOJ only identified the victim as a 22-year-old man from Stevenson Ranch…