Man sentenced for deadly San Benito fentanyl overdose

SAN BENITO, Texas (ValleyCentral) —  An alleged drug dealer pleaded guilty following the death of a man who overdosed on fentanyl, court records show.

On Monday, Gregory Stephen Norris pleaded guilty to murder, according to Cameron County court records.

Norris was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the death of 32-year-old Arnoldo Garcia Jr.

Gregory Stephen Norris (Cameron County Jail)

Background

At approximately 10 a.m. on March 26, 2024, authorities received a call of a possible overdose at a residence in San Benito.

At the scene, authorities found drug paraphernalia in the room and Garcia's phone.

During the investigation, police obtained a death certificate from the victim's family, which labeled Garcia's cause of death as a combination of methadone, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. 

The case was then considered a murder.

While investigators were going through Garcia's call logs, they found he had calls, Facebook messages, and texts from Norris, where Norris mentioned fentanyl being brought from a different city.

Norris also mentioned going to Garcia’s residence.

According to a previous ValleyCentral report, detectives had interviewed Norris, who was in custody at a halfway house in Brownsville during this time.

According to police, Norris had provided a full confession, told investigators that he supplied Garcia with fentanyl, stating that they met while serving time in the county jail.

Norris was indicted on Sept. 18, 2024, on the charges of murder and issued a bond of $500,000.