Alabama jail inmate charged with murder in fellow inmate’s fatal fentanyl overdose

Alabama jail inmate charged with murder in fellow inmate’s fatal fentanyl overdose

Lauderdale County authorities have arrested an inmate in the death of another inmate that occurred in February.

Sheriff Joe Hamilton announced that Russell Lyn Reatherford, 27, of Sheffield, has been indicted by a grand jury for felony murder, drug distribution and second degree promoting prison contraband.

Investigators presented evidence, including a state toxicology report, to the grand jury indicating Reatherford supplied inmate Harley James Coyer with a lethal amount of fentanyl, causing his death, Hamilton said.

Deputies discovered Coyer, 37, of Florence, unresponsive in his cell at about 7 p.m. Feb. 14 after being alerted by other inmates. The on-duty nurse responded to the cell and immediately began life-saving measures, but Coyer was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hamilton said at the time that a second inmate, who was in the same cell block as Coyer, began exhibiting health issues, including being lethargic. The inmate, whose name was not released, was transported to the hospital.

Reatherford, who was already an inmate, remains in the Lauderdale County Detention Center.