A Texas man was charged with murder after his young friend overdosed on fentanyl while partying for her birthday.
Erica Russell, 24, celebrated her birthday with friends, including her manager Eric Sembera, after leaving a shift at a restaurant in Tomball, near Houston, Texas, in August.
Sembera, 26, allegedly asked Russell if she wanted to “do a dose of drugs” before he “dumped” powder on her phone and she inhaled it. Click on 2 Houston reported.
She later fell asleep and Sembera took her to the hospital, which they later left against medical advice, investigators said. He dropped his friend and colleague off at her apartment and that was the last time anyone heard from her.
Now Sembera, who has had addiction problems in the past, faces a charge of fentanyl murder, a first-degree felony, and was arrested last week — four months after her death.
The charge is new, as the law only came into effect in September 2023 and has only been handed out a few times.
Sembera’s lawyers call the charges “ridiculous.”
“This is a tragic accident, not a crime,” Mark Thering told Click 2 Houston. “This wasn’t a drug dealer, it wasn’t someone pushing fentanyl on people.
Erica Russell, 24, celebrated her birthday with her friends, including her manager Eric Sembera, after leaving her shift at a restaurant in Tomball, Texas, near Houston, in August.
Sembera, 26, allegedly asked Russell if she wanted to “take a dose of drugs” before he “dumped” powder on her phone and she inhaled it. She later died from it. Now Sembera, who has had addiction problems in the past, is facing a fentanyl homicide charge
“Unfortunately, he has had substance abuse issues and is currently in therapy and has been diagnosed with a substance use disorder.”
Sembera is free on $100,000 bail, according to Click 2 Houston.
But Russell’s mother is in “pain every day of my life.”
“Losing my daughter, losing my Erica, there’s no comparison,” she said. ‘My daughter lived her life there. And it was the best thing she ever did in her life. And I was proud of her.
“I don’t know how to live without my daughter.”
Russell had only lived in Texas for less than a year, her mother told the newspaper, and she insisted that if her daughter had known what the drug was, she would not have taken it.
‘It’s a death sentence. “If you mess around with fentanyl, there’s a good chance you’re going to die,” she said.
Russell’s overdose was the second in Tomball this year and Police Chief Jeffrey Bert said it is “grippingly frightening for people.”
Russell had only lived in Texas for less than a year, her mother told the newspaper, and she insisted that if her daughter had known what the drug was, she would not have taken it.
Russell’s overdose was the second in Tomball this year
Tomball police have responded to dozens of calls over the years, many involving juveniles, and have had to use Narcan at least 35 times in the past two years, Click 2 Houston reported.
In 2020, the department opted to sell its gyrocopters for a narcotics K9 unit, which Bert said has assisted in more than 150 drug-related cases.
This year, police have recovered more than 300 grams of the substance from the streets of Tomball.
“From my seat, not only as a cop, but as a father of four beautiful daughters, I think it’s essential, I think our nation needs to recognize and that this is an epidemic,” Bert said.