2 Charged In Fentanyl-Related Death In Miami-Dade

MIAMI, FL -- Two men were indicted Wednesday in connection with the fentanyl-related death of a 22-year-old man under a recent change in Florida law, according to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office.

Twenty-one-year-old Karl Schmidt and 52-year-old David Cash were both indicted on first-degree murder charges by a Miami-Dade grand jury. They are accused of killing Daniel Calle.

“The opioid epidemic has already taken far too many lives and devastated far too many families” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “Florida law holds responsible those who supply and sell the drugs which lead to a death."

Ed Griffith of the state attorney's office said that the case was among the first brought in Miami-Dade County under a recent change in Florida law. Two Miami-Dade County inmates were charged under the law in January.

Griffith said Fernandez Rundle persuaded state legislators to expand the section of Florida’s murder statute that addressed the sale of drugs resulting in death to include fentanyl.

"In today’s Indictment, the grand jury agreed with our belief that the actions of Karl Schmidt and David Cash are responsible for Daniel Calle’s death," added Fernandez Rundle. "The statute was specifically designed to address these circumstances.”

Griffith said that fentanyl has played a major role in the increase in opioid deaths, both locally and nationally.

"Prior to the legislative change, a death related to fentanyl abuse could not be charged in such a manner," Griffith added.