DENVER — Prosecutors in Denver, CO, revealed Friday they have charged a man in connection with the death of an East Texas college student who reportedly overdosed on fentanyl.
Jamal Gamal, of California, has been charged with distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. Gamal allegedly sold fentanyl over the internet to Collin Walker, 28, of Tyler, who was attending college in Denver. Walker died on Nov. 19, 2023.
According to the Denver Police Department, Gamal sold fentanyl to Walker between Nov. 9 and Nov. 19, which resulted in Walker's death The DPD says after they identified Gamal as the person who sold the fentanyl to Walker, they developed a relationship with him and began purchasing drugs from him as part of a sting operation. Between Feb. 1 and Feb. 6, 2024, the DPD says Gamal mailed them more than 14 grams of fentanyl from California.
San Francisco police arrested Gamal on Aug. 28. He is expected to be brought to Denver on Sept. 16.
"The case is yet another tragic example of the devastation that fentanyl continues to cause in our community," Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said. "The charges against Mr. Gamal should send the message that people who are accused of selling this poison in Denver will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Walker attended All Saints Episcopal School in Tyler and was pursuing a degree in Industrial Design at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
An arrest affidavit revealed police received a tip from Walker's mother that a friend told her Gamal was dealing drugs to Walker. A friend of Walker's told police Gamal was shipping fentanyl and Xanax to Walker via USPS and FedEx. The arrest affidavit further shows the friend called Gamal and "cussed him out" and told him that he had killed Walker.
Police found two unlabeled medicine bottles at the scene of Walker's death. One bottle had 13 blue pills which later tested positive for fentanyl, and the other had 14 suspected white Xanax pills which later tested positive for bromazolam, an illicit drug known to law enforcement to be sold by drug dealers and marketed as Xanax.
Officers made contact with Gamal on Jan. 23, 2024 and successfully purchased suspected Xanax pills from Gamal, which later tested positive for bromazolam. A fingerprint was also extracted from the package. Another purchase was arranged on Feb. 1, wherein officers purchased 100 "blues," also called "percs." The pills tested positive for fentanyl on March 7. Gamal allegedly reached out to the undercover officer several times to ask if he needed more.
An arrest warrant was requested following the sting operation on Aug. 7., and served against Gamal on Aug, 28.