A suspected dealer has been arrested on a warrant after the drug overdose death of a 21-year-old Oxford man.
Marc Alexander Thomas was found dead on the morning of Jan. 26 at his home in Oxford. Fentanyl was found at the scene. Sumter County Sheriff’s Office homicide and narcotics detectives worked together from the onset and began establishing a timeline leading up to Thomas’ death.
On the same day Thomas was discovered dead, detectives with the special investigations squad were able to identify the dealer supplying Thomas with drugs. With the Thomas family’s help, detectives were able to pose as Thomas, whose death had not been publicly announced, and lure the dealer to a location under the pretense of a narcotics purchase.
The dealer agreed to meet with the undercover detectives at a predetermined location. Upon his arrival there, he was taken into custody without incident. At the time of his arrest, the dealer, identified as 20-year-old Loren Dizzon Lee Harris, had a 9mm handgun concealed inside of his waistband as well as fentanyl. He was arrested on charges not directly related to Thomas’ death.
The homicide investigation continued and ultimately the Medical Examiner was able to establish Thomas’ cause of death as fentanyl toxicity.
Detective Shannon Voss on Tuesday obtained an arrest warrant for Harris on a charge of homicide-distribution of fentanyl resulting in overdose death. Sumter County detectives in coordination with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office were able to conduct surveillance on Harris and safely take him into custody at his home in Ocala.
“The rise in fentanyl overdoses and deaths across the country are alarming and have to be taken seriously. The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, as in this case, is dedicated to aggressively pursuing the dealers of this deadly drug and the dealers are being put on notice,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
