JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Clay County man is facing negligent manslaughter charges after investigators say the drugs he sold led to the death of a man from Seattle.
At the request of the victim’s family, News4Jax is not naming the victim, who died at his parents’ home in Nassau County. He was identified as a former Disney executive.
The man arrested has been identified by police has Glen Watson, 31. Investigators said Waston admitted to selling the drugs to the man but that he didn’t know the drugs caused his death.
According to the arrest warrant, back in early June, Watson had been selling cocaine to a Seattle, Washington-area man who flew to Northeast Florida to live with his parents while he dealt with his drug addiction problems.
After finding the man dead from a drug overdose, deputies said they searched his cellphone, where they said they found text messages between him and Watson in reference to purchasing cocaine.
Days later, investigators said, an undercover detective posing as a buyer purchased narcotics from Watson and that’s when Watson was arrested.
“The cellphone was vital in this particular case because they used it to set this guy. One, find out who he is, and two, make a deal with him over the phone and meet up with him so they could arrest him,” explained News4Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson.
According to the report, detectives learned the victim met Watson through Watson’s girlfriend, who met the victim over the internet. Watson admitted to investigators that he sold the victim cocaine several times a week, the report said.
The medical examiners office determined the victim died from a fatal combination of cocaine and fentanyl.
Watson pleaded no contest to the Nassau County drug charges and received a sentence of time served. Then he was released to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on the manslaughter warrant.
News4Jax spoke with the victim’s father, who says his son leaves behind a wife and two children.
“I think their getting over it by doing the best they can, proceeding with their life, going to school when they can, to work when they can,” the victim’s father said. “Just trying to rebuild a life after their father is gone.”
Watson is behind bars at the Duval County jail, because investigators said he sold the lethal dose of drugs in Jacksonville.