1-Year-Old Colorado Girl Dies After Parents Allegedly Used, Sold Fentanyl In Their Home
BRIGHTON, Colo. (CBS4) - The district attorney for Broomfield and Adams counties Brian Mason says the biggest threat to his community right now is the drug fentanyl.
"Fentanyl is the most lethal drug on the streets right now," he says. "It's one of the most lethal drugs that we have ever seen in our history."
Thursday was another reminder of just how much tragedy it can bring a family.
Parents Alonzo Montoya and Nicole Casias were in an Adams County courtroom charged with fentanyl-related crimes and causing the death of their 1-year-old daughter.
According to the district attorney, the toddler died from fentanyl poisoning after Montoya and Casias were dealing and using the dangerous drug in their home in Brighton.
According to the arrest affidavit, on Jan. 2, 2022, Casias admitted to police she smoked a fentanyl pill around midnight before putting her child to bed. Later that afternoon, around 2 p.m., she found the child unresponsive, and that child was later declared dead.
A search of the residence found paraphernalia associated with selling and using drugs. They questioned Montoya who admitted the couple was trying to get clean, but also that he was making crack rock from fentanyl pills he kept locked up in the apartment.
Police also found surveillance video from cameras inside the home that appeared to show drug transactions and later interviews with associates and Casias' older daughter revealed they saw drug sales happen in the apartment.
This is the second high profile fentanyl in Adams County this year. In February, five people died in Commerce City after ingesting the drug. Mason says people in his counties need to be on high alert.
"Parents talk to your kids about fentanyl. Fentanyl is in everything. It's in drugs that people don't realize when it's there," he said.
Mason says he need better tools to combat this fentanyl crisis. Not only laws that punish dealers and seek to get users treatment and resources like the bipartisan effort announced at the Colorado State Capital, but also more strict possession laws that make possession of even small amounts of fentanyl a felony.
RELATED: Mayors From Colorado's 2 Largest Cities Call For Changes To Proposed Fentanyl Bill
