FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A man has been arrested by Fayetteville police in connection to a deadly fentanyl overdose.
Charles McGibbony, 47, was booked into the Washington County Detention Center on May 1 for aggravated death by delivery and violation of probation. He’s being held on a $25,000 bond.
A preliminary report said that on Jan. 17, officers with the Fayetteville Police Department (FPD) responded to East Zion Road for an unattended death.
Linzie Baker was found dead of an overdose with fentanyl and drug paraphernalia located nearby. Autopsy results confirmed that she died from fentanyl and methamphetamine toxicity, the report said.
Police said Baker's text messages revealed that she was in a relationship with McGibbony, who made regular trips to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to purchase fentanyl.
The report said that the night before Baker's death, he met with her and picked her up. They last spoke on the day she died.
McGibbony was interviewed by police and reportedly confirmed that he met with Baker and gave her fentanyl that he picked up from Tulsa.
McGibbony was previously sentenced in April 2023 to 72 months of probation after pleading guilty to terroristic threatening, possession of controlled substances, and possession of drug paraphernalia. His arrest is a violation of probation.
Aggravated death by delivery is a new criminal charge created by the passage of Act 584, better known as the Fentanyl Enforcement and Accountability Act, by the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2023.
The charge applies when a person gives fentanyl or another controlled substance to somebody who dies from it, according to the Arkansas House of Representatives.
The law was passed to curb rising overdose death numbers in the Natural State specifically related to fentanyl.
McGibbony’s next court date is scheduled for June 3.
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