Crime & Safety
Former Pharmacist Charged In Morgan Hill Woman's Overdose Death
Police allege a decertified pharmacist knowingly laced cocaine with fentanyl before he sold it to a woman who later died of an overdose.
SAN JOSE, CA — A former Walgreens pharmacist was arrested Friday and faces murder and drug charges linked to a woman's death in Morgan Hill last year, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators identified the suspect Tuesday as Benjamin Nathan Williams, 34, of San Jose. The sheriff's office alleges Williams secretly laced cocaine with fentanyl and sold it to Hope Noel Warrick, 26, who died of an overdose at her home on Feb. 13, 2023.
The coroner's office determined she died from cocaine, amphetamine and fentanyl use.
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According to investigators, Warrick's mother called 911 after discovering her daughter unresponsive inside an accessory dwelling unit on her Morgan Hill property. Detectives found a "white powdery substance," drug paraphernalia and the victim's cell phone at the scene. Members of the county's covert investigation unit obtained a search warrant for the phone, and investigators said it revealed direct messages Williams and Warrick exchanged on Instagram the night before she died.
The sheriff's office alleges Williams mentioned adding "something extra" for her but did not specify a substance. Detectives said Warrick's search history included a query for how to determine if something contained fentanyl.
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Investigators said Williams previously worked as a certified pharmacist tech at Walgreens but was decertified by the Board of Pharmacy stemming from allegations he stole narcotics from the pharmacy. According to detectives, another search warrant revealed a photo Williams had sent to someone on Facebook Messenger, showing a white substance in a clear Walgreens baggie, which looked similar to what was found at the Morgan Hill home.
Further searches of his cell phones revealed more photos and texts regarding drug sales, including evidence that Williams knew the dangers of fentanyl, detectives allege.
Investigators moved to arrest Willaims in San Jose on March 1. He was booked into the Main Jail on suspicion of murder and felony drug sales.
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