43-YEAR-OLD HARLINGEN FEMALE PRISONER CHARGED WITH MURDER IN OCTOBER 2023 INMATE FENTANYL OVERDOSE

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

After toxicology results showed that a 25-year-old female inmate who was found dead in her Cameron County jail cell in October died of an overdose of fentanyl, an investigation conducted by the Texas Rangers is said to reveal that she had acquired what she believed methamphetamine from another woman prisoner in her section. 

Instead, the substance turned out to be a mixture of meth laced with deadly fentanyl, according to sources in the department. The admission she had died from the illegal drug was made in a press release by Cameron County Sheriff Eric Garza's office at the time. The release issued by the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that she “had fentanyl in her system at the time of death.”

Jacqueline Barocio, 21, was in custody at the Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center on charges of aggravated assault and possession of drugs when she was found dead on Oct. 21. A court had assented to have her attend  substance treatment and she was waiting for an opening in the program facility.

The subsequent Texas Ranger investigation has resulted in another woman, 43-year-old Brandy A. Brown Daniels, of Harlingen, to be be charged with her murder for providing the deadly mixture that was missed during a search on the day of her incarceration. She was charged with murder on March 12, according to booking documents.

"Apparently, jailers discovered some drugs under her bra when she was jailed , but did not conduct a vaginal search and that's what authorities suspect killed the other inmate," said a source with the sheriff's department. 

In December, Cameron County Assistant District Attorney Edward Sandoval said a new state law provides for a murder charge.

“A new law went into effect that was passed in the last legislative session that made it murder to intentionally give someone fentanyl — and it results in their death. If there's a crime that's occurred, we're going to make sure that we seek justice for the people that are hurt and the laws that are broken."

Brown, who was originally charged with manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm after her arrest October 10, was charged with illegally introducing a prohibited substance/item into a correctional facility on October 30 after the substance was analyzed.

Harlingen Municipal Judge Noemi Garcia-Martinez set a $1 million surety bond on the mueder charge on Brown in addition to the bonds she had on the original charges. She is said to be romantically involved with a suspected  drug dealer in Harlingen responsible for the recent overdoses outbreak there, according to law enforcement sources.

Another woman involved in passing the drug from Brown to Barocio's cell denied that she had any knowledge that the substance contained fentanyl. It's unknown whether any charges will be filed against that inmate. She remains unidentified.

Media inquiries to Sheriff Eric Garza elicited an answer that he knew nothing of the Rangers report or the murder charge against Brown. He said that the Rangers had not released their report to him on the inmate's death or the subsequent murder charge against Brown despite the fact that she is being held in his jail. 

According to Barocio's family, she had been held at the jail and had complained of a painful toothache for about two months before her death was reported by a jailer when she was found unresponsive in her cell. A jail mate said she complained of a painful toothache the night before she died and said was given some pain medication by a jail nurse.

“We thought she would be safe there, but… she's dead now,” Jacqueline’s mother – Veronica Aguilera  – said at the time her death was reported. 

Meanwhile, Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz has declined to comment on the case pending the release of the Texas Ranger report. However, as early as October of last year – after a spate of fentanyl-related deaths because of overdoses in the county – Saenz addressed the issue in a press conference.

"Having fentanyl is a first-degree felony. If you are delivering fentanyl-laced drugs and those drugs lead to the death of a user, then that person can be charged with first-degree murder," he said then.

This is due to a new statute that came into effect last month which states that if you deliver the substance and “an individual dies as a result of injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or introducing into the individual’s” that person will be charged with murder.

"This indicates that there are drugs circulating in the county's jails," said the county source. "It's like they say, if you want the good stuff, just go to a county jail."

Jacqueline Barocio left behind a 1-year-old and a 6-year-old child.