Man Charged with Murder for Supplying Fentanyl Used in Fatal Overdose

A Sevierville man has been charged with second-degree murder for allegedly supplying the drug Fentanyl to a man that died of an overdose.

On February 12, 2016, officers from the Sevierville Police Department responded to a call of an unconscious man, later identified as 22-year-old Mohammed Hafeez, at 421 Club Drive in Sevierville. Sevier County Ambulance Service transported Hafeez to LeConte Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner performed an autopsy and determined that Hafeez died due to a toxic level of the schedule II painkiller Fentanyl.

Police say their investigation found that 22-year-old Elisha Douglass McDowell supplied the Fentanyl to Hafeez. An indictment was recently obtained and officers arrested McDowell after a traffic stop on E Main Street in downtown Sevierville at 4:23 a.m. on Sunday, May 15, 2016.

McDowell was transported to the Sevier County Jail and is being held on a $100,000 bond. The investigation is ongoing.

All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.