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Dealer charged with murder after 'deadly' mix causes overdose death

By and FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  June 26, 2023 11:29pm EDT
Covington
FOX 5 Atlanta

Man charged with trafficking fentanyl, murder

Police say a man died with a deadly mix of fentanyl and horse tranquilizer in his system. Now, a Newton County man is charged with his murder.

COVINGTON, Ga. - Police say a man died with a deadly mix of fentanyl and horse tranquilizer in his system. The Newton County man accused of providing him with the lethal substance has been charged with his murder.

Several agencies were involved in a months-long investigation after James Nail, Jr. died following an overdose.

James Nail, Jr. (Photo submitted by family)

On Dec. 30, Covington police said they responded to Hannah Street where they found the man unresponsive. He later died at the hospital.

Police said Nail had fentanyl and xylazine, also known as "tranq," in his system.

(Credit: Covington Police Department)

"The scariest side effect to that is it doesn't allow Narcan to work," Covington Police Lt. Daniel Digby said. "So, if somebody is overdosing on fentanyl and there's xylazine present, Narcan is not going to bring them back."

Back in April the Biden Administration called fentanyl mixed with xylazine an emerging threat here in the U.S.

ANIMAL TRANQUILIZER MIXED WITH FENTANYL CREATES DEADLY MIX

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) found xylazine-positive overdose deaths had increased by over 1000% from 2020 to 2021.

"If that had not been in this drug, we may have been able to bring Mr. Nail back," Lt. Digby said.

A six-month investigation involving the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Georgia State Patrol (GSP) and the Newton County Sheriff's Office led officials to the suspected source of those drugs.

Matthew Burley (Credit: Newton County Jail)

Last week, Matthew Burley was taken into custody and charged with trafficking fentanyl, as well as Nail's death.

"Mr. Burley thought and believed that 'The police aren't going to look into this, we're not going to investigate this,'" the lieutenant said. "But to him, and everybody else that may be in the same situation, we're going to dig, and we're going to do the best we can to bring these people to justice."

James Nail, Jr. (Photo submitted by family)

Nail's family wasn't ready to speak on camera Monday evening but told FOX 5 he was deeply missed. Nail left behind a wife and two children.

"We can't bring Mr. Neal back, but hopefully we can save and prevent the next one from happening," Lt. Digby said.

Burley is currently being held in the Newton County Jail without bond.