Woman suspected of Bellingham homicide released on her own recognizance
A woman arrested for selling counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl that allegedly led to the overdose death of a Bellingham man was released from jail Friday evening, May 15, on her own recognizance, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies had arrested Katie Dyann Webb, 27, a former Whatcom resident, Thursday, May 14, in East Wenatchee.
The sheriff’s office said in a Friday news release that it 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 stem 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 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.
Three people were arrested in Whatcom County in October 2019 in connection with the death of a Lummi Nation member. Her apparent opioid overdose led U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran to issue a warning “about these potentially deadly pills.”
According to a Lummi release at the time, most victims of overdose are unaware they are taking fentanyl, a drug that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine but can contain contaminants or be mislabeled when it is sold illegally.
