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Suspect arrested after Gwinnett man dies from drugs laced with fentanyl, police said

A man was arrested Tuesday and charged under Austin's new law in connection with a fentanyl-related death in Gwinnett County, police said.

Authorities say 39-year-old Emory Clark is charged with aggravated manslaughter, sale of narcotics, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and theft by receiving stolen goods in connection with the death of 23-year-old Christian Howell from a fentanyl overdose.

On July 31, Howell was found unconscious in a bedroom at a home on Mill Glenn Court near Lawrenceville. Police spokesman Sergeant Collin Flynn said illegal drugs were found in the room and officers began collecting phone records, surveillance footage and other evidence.

Clark, of Snellville, was eventually identified as the drug dealer who sold drugs to Howell, Flynn confirmed. During a search of Clark's home, officers said they found narcotics packages similar to those discovered in Howell's home the day he died, as well as a stolen gun, officers added.

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Austin's law, signed in April, is named after Austin Walters, a Georgia man who died from a pill laced with fentanyl in 2021. The law created a new category of aggravated manslaughter under which drug traffickers and distributors can be prosecuted.

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