Travis Gassaway was a jack-of-all-trades — but “his favorite job was being a dad and uncle,” according to his online memorial .
The 39-year-old man often traveled to Oregon to visit his grandparents, the memorial said. Eventually, he’d moved there for work, and on May 13 had just returned to Tracy when he died of fentanyl poisoning, according to Tracy Police documents filed in Superior Court in November.
In response, San Joaquin County prosecutors took an unusual step: they charged a man they say sold Gassaway the drugs with homicide.
On Jan. 12, the district attorney’s office charged Antonee Haines, 42, with second-degree murder.
“I want to make it crystal clear; fentanyl is poison,” District Attorney Ron Freitas said in a statement about the case.
No evidence has yet been presented against Haines in court. Prosecutors couldn’t be reached for further comment by deadline.
The case puts San Joaquin County among several local governments across the U.S. that in recent months have treated fentanyl deaths as homicides.