On August 5, 2022, Collin County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to a drug overdose at a residence on FM 546 in Princeton, Texas. Upon arrival, Deputies located a 29-year-old male deceased in his bedroom, collected evidence, and interviewed family members and witnesses. Among the items collected was a counterfeit Percocet pill that was later lab tested and determined to contain Fentanyl.
Investigators assigned to the Collin County Sheriff’s Office Gang and Habitual Offender Strike Team (GHOST) began an investigation to identify the dealer responsible for selling the Fentanyl-laced drugs that killed this victim. After a thorough investigation, GHOST Investigators identified the suspect and on September 12, 2022 Collin County, Judge Lindsey Wynne, 468th District Court, signed an Arrest Warrant charging Gabriel Aldo Fossatti, a resident of Princeton, Texas with Manufacture or Delivery of a Controlled Substance Causing Death or Serious Bodily Injury, a 2nd Degree Felony. On this same day, Judge Wynne also signed a search warrant for Fossatti’s residence.
Early Wednesday morning, GHOST Investigators arrested Fossatti at his residence and executed the search warrant, which resulted in the seizure of Psilocybin (mushrooms), marijuana, a loaded Glock pistol, and numerous pills, including Xanax and Percocet. The Percocet pills seized were similar to those recovered at the scene of the overdose death of the 29-year-old male in Princeton on August 5. Fossatti was transported to the Collin County Detention Facility. This investigation is ongoing.
Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner said, “Here in Collin County we have seen a 571% increase in the number of Fentanyl-related drug overdose deaths in the past 36 months. Make no mistake, these are fatal Fentanyl poisonings, an act on the part of the Mexican drug cartels who use Fentanyl and its addictive qualities to intentionally increase addiction among Americans. With catastrophic results, the lack of any meaningful border policy by the current administration has made it too easy for the Cartels to smuggle Fentanyl into the US, Consequently, we are witnessing an historic explosion of fatal Fentanyl poisonings in every town, village and city across this Nation. In Collin County we will continue to investigate every one of these Fentanyl poisonings to identify the dealers responsible for causing these deaths.”
