Woman suspected of homicide after sale of fake pills with fentanyl to Bellingham man
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 27-year-old former resident of the county for her alleged sale of counterfeit prescription pills that contained fentanyl and led to an overdose death of a Bellingham man in November.
Katie Dyann Webb was arrested Thursday, May 14, in East Wenatchee and booked into Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of controlled substance homicide and delivery of a controlled substance, according to a sheriff’s office news release Friday.
The release stated the sheriff’s office is seeking a second suspect in the case, but no other information was available on that suspect while the investigation is active.
Webb’s arrest and the search for the second suspect stems from the Nov. 23, 2019, overdose death of Jeremiah Crediford, 34, after he purchased what he believed were Percocet pills from Webb and the second suspect, the release stated. Those pills were found to contain fentanyl, which caused Crediford’s overdose.
Since Crediford’s deaths, sheriff’s investigators determined that he placed an order for five Percocet pills from Webb and wired her money on Nov. 22, according to the release.
Webb went to the residence of the second suspect, picked up the pills than brought them to Crediford’s home in the 4000 block of East 26th Avenue in Bellingham at approximately 11 p.m, the release stated. Two hours later, at 1 p.m. Nov. 23, a 911 call was made stating that Crediford was not breathing and CPR had begun.
CPR efforts were unsuccessful, and Crediford was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy confirmed that his cause of death was due to a fentanyl overdose.
Through records, detectives were able to backtrack the case, and earlier this month established probable cause for Webb’s and the second suspect’s arrest, according to the release.
Webb, who formerly lived in Whatcom County, was tracked to a family member’s home in East Wenatchee, and on Thursday, with the assistance of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office arrested Webb without incident, the release stated.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office also cautioned the public in regards to prescription painkillers.
“We are seeing a marked increase in illicit and counterfeit ‘prescription’ pills, such as Percocet and Oxycodone,” the release stated. “These counterfeit pills are being sold on the street as Percocet or Oxy 30s, but actually are being made with fentanyl and other ingredients in illegal pill presses throughout the West Coast.”
Since last fall, the sheriff’s office reported, Whatcom County has seen 10 fatal overdoses and several other overdoses that did not result in death.
“The public is cautioned to only take prescription medication that is prescribed to you by a licensed medical doctor and purchased through a legitimate pharmacy,” the release stated.
This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 12:52 PM.
