FENTANYL SUSPECT TO STAND TRIAL

Man accused of dealing heroin laced with the painkiller is charged
with drug, weapons violations.

A man accused of being a major supplier of deadly fentanyl-laced
heroin will stand trial on 10 counts of drug and weapons violations,
a 36th District Court judge ruled Wednesday.

Daren Reese, 45, of Detroit was arrested June 22 by Wayne County
Sheriff's deputies and Drug Enforcement Administration agents while
driving a late model Cadillac and carrying 83 packets of the mixed
drug. In a raid of his home near the Jefferies housing project east
of the Lodge Freeway, police confiscated an undisclosed amount of
drugs, powder suspected to be fentanyl and items used to market drugs.

Deputies said Reese supplied drugs to runners who sold it to
customers including suburbanites coming off the freeway.

Judge Nancy Blount ruled that there was enough evidence to order that
Reese stand trial in Wayne Circuit Court and continued his $200,000 cash bond.

Fentanyl is a powerful painkiller that can kill users instantly when
mixed with heroin or cocaine. More than 133 people have died using
the drug mixture since September, according to the Wayne County
Health Department.