In connection with a fatal fentanyl overdose, the Denton Police Department and Denton County Sheriff’s Office have apprehended two individuals on felony charges, including Murder.
On the morning of October 18, at 7:23 a.m., emergency services responded to an unconscious person call at a hotel located in the 3700 block of S. I-35E. The victim, identified as 29-year-old Corey Alan Culver of St. Pauls, North Carolina, was pronounced deceased upon arrival. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined Culver’s cause of death as combined cocaine and fentanyl toxicity.
The female 911 caller, 38-year-old Tabitha Balent of Denton, reported finding the victim dead in the hotel room bed. A subsequent search of the room by Denton Police detectives uncovered drug paraphernalia and two circular blue pills suspected to be counterfeit oxycodone M30 tablets containing fentanyl. Text messages obtained from Balent's phone revealed communication between her and the victim regarding the acquisition and delivery of "percs" on October 17.
Detectives also discovered text messages between Balent and 37-year-old Raymond Hernandez of Denton discussing the purchase of suspected narcotics. Simultaneously, the Denton County Sheriff’s Office was investigating Hernandez on a separate narcotics case, resulting in three felony arrest warrants for Manufacture or Delivery of a Controlled Substance.
A joint operation conducted on December 13 by Denton PD, DCSO, and the US Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force led to the arrest of Balent and Hernandez without incident at their shared residence in the 3400 block of Ganzer Road West. Both suspects voluntarily spoke with detectives, with Balent admitting to acquiring pills from Hernandez that were later distributed to the victim. Following Hernandez's admission to supplying the pills, Denton PD obtained a Murder warrant for him.
Tabitha Balent is currently held in the Denton County Jail on a $100,000 bond, while Raymond Hernandez is in the City of Denton Jail with bond set at $150,000 for the Murder charge.
Denton County Sheriff Tracy Murphree emphasized the community's need to address the fentanyl threat, stating, "We must hold those accountable who are killing our citizens." Denton Police Chief Doug Shoemaker echoed this sentiment, urging collective vigilance in rooting out the sources of this deadly drug to prevent further loss of lives.
