Update: Fentanyl overdose case ends in mistrial
Brandi Turner.
Update posted Jan. 25:
– The murder case involving Brandi Turner, a 50-year-old San Luis Obispo woman accused of selling fentanyl to Quinn Hall who later died of an overdose, concluded in a mistrial on Wednesday, according to reports. The jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict, resulting in a 7-5 split in favor of guilt.
During court testimony, Turner admitted to selling the drug to 31-year-old Quinn Hall on Oct. 26, 2022. Hall was subsequently discovered dead behind the Animal Services building off Highway 1.
Update posted Jan., 11, 2024:
Update: Alleged fentanyl dealer faces murder charges in ongoing trial
– The trial began this week for Brandi Turner, a San Luis Obispo woman accused of selling fentanyl to Quinn Hall, a Templeton man who subsequently died of an overdose on Oct. 26, 2022, according to a report by the Tribune. Prosecutors assert that Turner should be convicted of murder for her role in the incident.
Hall’s body was found on Oct. 27, 2022, by a San Luis Obispo County Animal Services employee behind the old Animal Services building on Kansas Avenue.
During the trial’s opening statements on Jan. 11, prosecutors argued that Brandi Turner knowingly sold the lethal dose of fentanyl to Quinn Hall. The defense countered, asserting that Hall, who was a regular fentanyl user, was well aware of the associated risks.
The prosecution highlighted a previous incident approximately six months before Hall’s death, in which Turner’s husband, Barry Turner, died of a fentanyl overdose. During this incident, Brandi Turner was also treated at the hospital for a fentanyl overdose. The prosecutor claimed that they had mistaken the substance for cocaine.
Originally posted May 17, 2023:
Fentanyl overdose case to be tried as a homicide
– On Oct. 27, of 2022, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to the old SLO County Animal Services building on Oklahoma Avenue in San Luis Obispo for a report of a deceased male behind the building.
The victim was identified as 31-year-old Quinn Hall of Templeton. It was later determined that Hall died of a fentanyl overdose. During the investigation, detectives discovered that shortly before Hall died, he was allegedly sold fentanyl by a woman identified as 50-year-old Brandi Turner, who was a resident of Oklahoma Avenue Safe Parking.
Detectives determined the fentanyl that Turner allegedly sold to Hall led to his death. And as a result, on Monday, Turner was arrested for homicide. It’s believed this is the first case in the county where a fentanyl death will be prosecuted as a homicide, according to the sheriff’s office. Turner is currently being held in San Luis Obispo County Jail on homicide and drug charges without bail
District Attorney Dan Dow also announced today the filing of murder charges against Turner (DOB 04/28/1973) for the death of Hall (age 31). Turner is also charged with the sale of fentanyl and possession of fentanyl for the purpose of sale.
“Buying and selling illicit prescription drugs on the street is deadly dangerous. While a purchaser may believe they are buying a pharmaceutical-grade painkiller, there is no way to know who made them, where they came from, or what is in them. Sadly, as happens too often, it leads to overdose and death,” said Dow. “We will not tolerate the criminal distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and other hard drugs because too many young people have been dying across our country and here in our community. Individuals who knowingly sell these deadly drugs in our community will be aggressively prosecuted and when the facts support it, they will be charged with murder.”
Criminals in clandestine labs take illicit fentanyl, mix it with other substances and press the mixture into pills that appear to be pharmaceutical-grade medication, according to Dow. The high potency of fentanyl greatly increases the risk of overdose, particularly where the user is unaware of its presence in the pill. Fentanyl’s high potency permits the drug trafficking criminal to use less of the active drug when making the pills, allowing them to increase profits. It is not alleged that Turner manufactured the drugs that she sold.
Turner appeared in court Tuesday for arraignment on the charges as an in-custody defendant and requested that her arraignment be continued to Wednesday in Department 3 of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, Judge Craig van Rooyen presiding.
The investigation is ongoing. No additional information can be released at this time. Anyone with information that could be helpful in this investigation is encouraged to contact San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Detective Greg Smith at (805) 781-4500.
