Investigators warn of fentanyl-laced cocaine after death of doctor and friend

DEKALB COUNTY, GA. — A new drug combination is so potent, investigators say it killed a doctor and his friend inside their homes.

Authorities said Dr. Raul Rodon was found dead in his Brookhaven home on August 28, roughly 16 hours after his close friend, Nancy Virginia Brock, was found dead in her car. Brock's body was discovered in the garage of another upscale house where she lived.

"If he can die of this, what's that say about other folks? That anybody can die from it," said Maj. Linda Burke with the Brookhaven Police Department.

It's the first time Brookhaven police discovered the deadly mixture of cocaine and fentanyl, and investigators told Channel 2's Mark Winne that there could be other cases in Georgia.

“Once we realized who he was, we believed the two deaths were definitely related,” said Det. Camella Patterson with the Brookhaven Police Department.

A mixture with fentanyl is commonly associated with heroin users, but increasingly found mixed with other drugs.

“It was obvious that both people that we found had been dead for several days,” Burke said.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Ga. sheriff indicted for sexual battery in high school drug search
• Masked gunmen ambush pair changing tire in Midtown
• Cyber thieves steal paychecks from Atlanta Public Schools employees

Burke added that shortly before her interview with Channel 2's Mark Winne, the department received written confirmation from the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office, which ruled Rodon's cause of death to be complications of cocaine and fentanyl use.

She said the medical examiner ruled Ms. Brock's cause of death cocaine toxicity but the Medical Examiner’s Office Director Pat Bailey said a test found indications of fentanyl in her system, too.

Burke and Patterson said police found bags of cocaine without fentanyl in the doctor's kitchen.

“We believe the cocaine that was laced with fentanyl was what they used. They used all they had. We did not find anymore," Patterson said.

They want the public to know cocaine laced with deadly fentanyl is out there. They said the fact a doctor could die like this should send a message.

“It crosses all barriers, financial, race, it doesn’t matter. One time could be your last time,” Patterson said.

The GBI warned about the narcotic one hundred times more powerful than morphine.

They say just touching the drug could be deadly.

The GBI trained more than 50 members of Georgia law enforcement on safe handling of fentanyl.

Cox Media Group