INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man was arrested and charged with dealing drugs resulting in death following the fatal overdoses of two men on the city’s east side.
After finding two men dead outside a home on Nimitz Drive in late May, prosecutors allegedly used phone records to identify the suspect who is now accused of providing a lethal dose of drugs to the victims.
Prosecutors believe text messages were sent between one of the victims and the suspect to set up a drug deal for cocaine.
The next day, Roberto Hernandez-Concepsion and Danilo Martinez-Gonzalez were found dead in the driveway from a fentanyl overdose.
Two other victims also overdosed but survived.
“This is a fentanyl poisoning. These individuals were thinking they were getting cocaine and it was fentanyl,” said DEA assistant special agent in charge Mike Gannon.
Court records claim 33-year-old Kristofer Polk provided the fatal dose of fentanyl.
In addition to text messages, the DEA said cell phone records placed Polk near the scene of the home at the time of the alleged drug deal.
“These are very difficult cases to make,” said Gannon.
Gannon admits these sort of cases can be challenging to file In fact, the Marion County Prosecutors Office confirmed that since the law that allowed drug dealers to be prosecuted for deaths went into effect in 2018, the office has filed nine such cases.
“What’s hard about it is often times people that use drugs have several people they may get their drugs from,” said Gannon.
Police reports show Polk was found Monday near 30th and Franklin and arrested with various drugs in his possession.
“People like Mr. Polk, who are destroying our communities, need to be held accountable for their actions,” said Gannon.
Because just a tiny amount of fentanyl, enough to fit on the tip of a pencil, can be deadly, there were 641 fatal fentanyl and opioid related overdoses in Marion County last year.
That number should serve as a warning to everyone.
“I say this all the time. We need people in the community to come together and stay away from drugs,” said Gannon.
Prosecutors have requested $200,000 cash bond for Polk, a figure that is higher than normal.
He is also facing preliminary charges of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, possession of a narcotic drug, resisting law enforcement and criminal confinement stemming from his arrest.
