A 17-year-old drug dealer from DeLand has been charged with manslaughter in the fatal fentanyl overdose of another 17-year-old who was found dead in his bedroom in July.
Following a thorough investigation, Daniel Arvizo was arrested for manslaughter in the July 30th death of the DeLand teenager who had just bought drugs from him.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood announced the arrest alongside State Attorney R.J. Larizza, whose office will be prosecuting the case.
“You name it, he supplies it,” Sheriff Chitwood said of the defendant Arvizo, whose text messages and other records proved he was selling drugs to the victim on multiple occasions. “Unfortunately, we have a 17-year-old that’s dead because of it.”
The overdose was reported the afternoon of Sunday, July 30th. As the investigation began, detectives checked the victim’s phone and identified Daniel Arvizo as the suspect who had just sold him the fatal dose. The texts showed the victim had contacted Arvizo several times to buy what he thought was cocaine.
Members of the West Volusia Narcotics Task Force located and arrested Arvizo the following day, July 31st. At that time, Arvizo (who was in possession of about 1 gram of fentanyl and 1 pound of marijuana) was arrested on charges of sale and delivery of fentanyl, possession of cannabis with intent to distribute, unlawful use of a 2-way communication device and possession of cannabis with intent to distribute.
The investigation into the fatal overdose continued, and detectives used cell phone records, interviews, surveillance videos and other technology to further establish it was Arvizo who sold the victim the drugs that killed him.
In August, a medical examiner’s report documented the victim’s cause of death as fentanyl toxicity.
Detectives presented the case to the State Attorney’s Office and obtained an order to take Arvizo into custody for manslaughter.
Arvizo was arrested, processed at the Volusia Family Resource Center and then transported to the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
Detectives are continuing to investigate. Arvizo was also identified as the possible source of a substance that caused a female student to pass out on a bathroom floor at DeLand High School on September 19th. The student in that incident was revived, transported to the hospital, and survived.
Sheriff Chitwood and State Attorney Larizza each called for help from families in addressing and preventing juvenile crime and drug use.
The Sheriff also emphatically called for school guardians on Volusia County campuses to be allowed to carry Narcan, the widely used naloxone nasal spray that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Sheriff Chitwood, who has long been urging the School District to allow Narcan on campus, pointed out that it’s available to school districts at no cost and its use is covered by the Good Samaritan Act.
“We’re seeing fentanyl everywhere,” Sheriff Chitwood said. “This arrest proves it. They’re classmates. They know who to ring up and they know who’s supplying what.”
In addition to the tragic overdose, the sheriff and state attorney discussed several other recent cases of minors firing or displaying guns and other weapons, using or selling drugs and committing other crimes that pose a threat to public safety and their own futures.
“I just want folks out there to know that your kids are doing things that could ruin the rest of their lives, and also ruin the lives of other kids. In fact, it could kill other kids,” Larizza said. “So please, parents, make it a point to be involved in what your kids are doing. Make it a point to check and see what they’re bringing to school.”
