A 20-year old Brawley man has been charged in the death of an El Centro student.

The U.S. Attorney's Office has announced that 20-year old Lorenzo Anthony Garcia of Brawley has been charged in the overdose death of a 15-year old Centro Union High School student. According to U.S. Attorney Robert S. Brewer Jr. , Garcia was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro on Wednesday. According to the complaint , Garcia was allegedly dealing counterfeit Blue M30 oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl. The CUHS student overdosed on the drugs and died October 8, 2019. The complaint also alleges that Garcia , even after he knew the pills were counterfeit , continued to distribute the drugs. Garcia faces a minimum of 20 up to a maximum of life in prison as well as up to a $1 million fine.

At the Friday Press Conference Brewer and John Callery, Special Agent in Charge , Drug Enforcement Administration for San Diego and Imperial Counties , pointed out that fentanyl is 30 to 50 times more powerful that heroin and that the price of the street drugs are declining , meaning that it is increasingly available in the Valley. They urged parents to get educated and teach their children the deadly consequences of taking pills that are not prescribed for them. The pills might be laced with fentanyl and fentanyl can kill them.

The CUHS student who died was described as " a kid like a kid we all know. He was a junior at Central and played football. His identity was not released.