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A Marion Superior Court jury convicted a man Wednesday in the drug-related death of an Indianapolis woman in 2023.
The jury convicted Rashaan Williams in the death of Shylis Garrett for selling her narcotics that prosecutors say she didn’t know contained fentanyl in deadly combination. The conviction came after a three-day trial.
“The victim had no idea she was taking a substance cut with some of the world’s most lethal narcotics that day,” said Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears. “We will continue to work alongside our partners to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who are willing to deceive and prey on the vulnerable in pursuit of profit.”
On July 14, 2023, a county deputy coroner was dispatched to an apartment on the northeast side of Indianapolis for a death investigation. Investigators found Garrett deceased inside her residence.
On her cellphone, the coroner found communication between Garrett and Williams, which showed that Garrett had asked Williams for substances like Xanax and Adderall.
Further examination showed a money transaction between the two on July 13, indicating the transaction of the controlled substances, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Investigators subsequently identified Williams as the person who supplied Garrett with the narcotics that ultimately resulted in her death. The coroner’s office stated that her death was caused by the combined intoxication of fentanyl, cocaine, clonazepam, acetylfentanyl, and bromazolam.
Williams’s sentencing hearing is set for Nov. 7. He faces 20 to 40 years in prison.
Since January 2024, the case is the 17th in which the Marion County prosecutor has filed charges alleging dealing in a controlled substance that resulted in death.
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