Murder conviction for man accused of selling fentanyl to man who later died from overdose

A momentous conviction was handed to a man accused of murder as a result of selling fentanyl to a local man who died from an overdose of the drug in 2024. The Placer County District Attorney's Office announced that 35-year-old James Teahan was convicted of second-degree murder in connection with the local fentanyl death of a man in July 2024. This marks the county's fifth fentanyl murder conviction. Teahan appeared in Placer County Superior Court the morning of Thursday, April 30, where the murder conviction was secured by the Placer County DA's Office Special Prosecutions Unit with support of the Placer County Sheriff's Office's detective. According to Placer County DA, this is the first murder charge investigated by the Placer County Sheriff's Opioid Response Team. The team was founded in April 2024, the same month this case occurred. Sheriff Woo and the Board of Supervisors expedited the creation of this team as fentanyl poisonings continued to rise in Placer County. Teahan is set to be sentenced on June 22 at 1 pm in Department 4 of the Historic Courthouse in Auburn.