A second person has been convicted in the 2020 overdose death of a Mossyrock woman following a two-day trial in Lewis County Superior Court.
Jason Jensen, 30, of University Place, was found guilty Oct. 19 of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, fentanyl, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 8 and Jensen is facing up to 15 years in prison.
Jensen was arrested Jan. 11, 2021, as part of the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET)’s investigation into the death of 27-year-old Layla Horton, who was discovered dead in her Mossyrock home after overdosing on fentanyl on Nov. 10, 2020.
Joshua Jacobs, then 35, of Mossyrock, was arrested in January 2021 after investigators learned he sold five fentanyl pills to Horton.
Jacobs had sent a text message to Horton the day before her death advising her to try one half of a dose first and telling her to be careful, according to court documents. Horton replied that she had taken a whole dose. She did not reply to Horton’s next text message wishing her a “good, safe rest of the night.” She was found dead shortly thereafter.
Jacobs was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of controlled substance homicide in January 2022.
“With the growing deadly fentanyl epidemic in mind, JNET detectives shifted their investigation to identify the source who was supplying Jacobs and potentially other local drug dealers with the fentanyl killing the community,” JNET stated in a news release announcing its investigation led to another arrest and subsequent conviction in Lewis County Superior Court this week.
Jensen was arrested and charged after officers identified Jensen as Jacobs’ source of supply, according to JNET. Officer subsequently searched his vehicle and found fentanyl laced pills, heroin, and methamphetamine, according to JNET.
JNET includes members of the Centralia Police Department, the Chehalis Police Department, the Washington Department of Corrections and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“JNET will continue to vigorously investigate crimes related to fentanyl overdoses and sales,” JNET stated in the release.
Anyone with information involving fentanyl or drug dealers is asked to call Detective Sergeant Tracy Murphy at 360-330-7680.
