A Santa Clarita man is expected to plead guilty Friday to a federal charge in what is considered the nation’s first criminal case involving a death caused by the synthetic opioid protonitazene.
Benjamin Anthony Collins, 21, has agreed to enter a plea in downtown Los Angeles to a single count of distribution of protonitazene resulting in death, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Federal prosecutors say the narcotic is up to three times more powerful than fentanyl.
According to the indictment, during the early morning hours of April 19, 2024, Collins knowingly and intentionally distributed the opioid, which resulted in the death of the victim. In recent years, protonitazene has been sold over the internet and is believed to be far more powerful than fentanyl, which itself is 50 times stronger than heroin.
Collins allegedly sold the 22-year-old victim pills containing the drug and arranged to sell the victim a bulk supply in the future. The victim, a resident of Stevenson Ranch, consumed the pills soon afterward in the front seat of his car and quickly died. His mother later found him dead in the car parked outside her home and called 911, court papers state.
Once his plea is accepted, Collins would face a sentence between 20 years and life imprisonment, prosecutors noted.