Dealer found guilty in Claifornia county’s 1st fentanyl murder verdict

KCRA, ELIZABETH DILLENDER, CNN

By Michelle Bandur

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    PLACER COUNTY, California (KCRA) — A man has been found guilty of second-degree murder and drug possession in the first fentanyl murder case to go to trial in Placer County.

Carson Schewe, 23, was charged in connection to the fentanyl poisoning death of Kade Webb, 20, in 2021. Webb was the cousin of San Francisco Giants player Logan Webb.

The jury announced the verdict on Tuesday after more than two full days of deliberations.

“This is an important decision by the jury because it validates what we have been working on, which is essentially the notion that when people put profit over people’s lives, they commit murder,” said Deputy District Attorney David Tellman.

The Placer County District Attorney’s Office called the defendant Webb’s drug dealer.

They showed videos they said Schewe recorded for social media, showing his pills allegedly for sale and the money he allegedly made selling those pills.

Prosecutors said Schewe and Webb agreed to a drug deal on Dec. 3, 2021, at Schewe’s Roseville apartment at 4 p.m.

A grocery store security video near Schewe’s apartment showed Webb, about an hour after purchasing the pill, walking into the bathroom. Prosecutors said he died instantly at 5:06 p.m.

Webb’s body was found hours later at 10:30 p.m., dead from fentanyl poisoning.

“This chemical is a weapon of mass destruction and it’s destroying communities, destroying families,” said Kurt Webb, Kade’s father.

After the verdict was read, Webb’s family spoke outside the courthouse. Webb’s mother carried her granddaughter in her arms. Indigo is 2 and a half and was born a month after her father died.

“He loved kids and we knew he was going to be a great dad. And that was one of the things that he was looking forward to the most,” said Elizabeth Dillender, Webb’s mother.

The Webb family has been active in helping the Placer County District Attorney’s office with it’s campaign, One Pill Can Kill.

“It’s setting precedence, district wide and nationwide, a lot of families don’t ever get to see the inside of a courtroom,” said Dillender. “We’re grateful for the work that Placer County has done. But many families don’t see this justice and dealers aren’t held accountable.”

Deputy District Attorney Devan Portillo previously told the jury, “Kade Webb paid the ultimate price, but we are not here to talk about that, not here to talk about Kade Webb’s struggle of addiction, but we are here to talk about those who profit over it.”

Portillo said, “The one person who chooses profit over life is Carson Schewe.”

But Schewe’s attorney, Placer County public defender Rohan Beesla, said prosecutors were answering to the pressure of the community to do something about the fentanyl problem.

“This is a new strategy that doesn’t fit. It’s different than giving someone rat poison, when you give rat poison, there is only one outcome, death,” Beesla said. “They want to make him seem like Pablo Escobar. This is not a kingpin.”

It was considering second-degree murder or a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, as well as two felony drug possession charges. The murder charge carries a possible sentence of 15 years to life.

Schewe was also found guilty of the drug possession counts, which carries a maximum of five years.

Sentencing is set for Dec. 5 at 8:30 a.m.

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