A Polk County fentanyl dealer already facing multiple drug trafficking charges has now been indicted for first-degree murder in connection with a fatal overdose investigation.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a grand jury indicted 39-year-old William Benjamin Newton Jr. of Dundee on May 14 for the death of 55-year-old Terry Morris.
Investigators with the sheriff’s office Organized Crime Unit determined that Newton sold fentanyl to Morris shortly after midnight on Dec. 14, 2025. Authorities said the transaction was captured on surveillance video outside the Block Hotel in Winter Haven.
The following day, Morris was found dead inside his home on Adair Road in Davenport. Detectives discovered multiple hypodermic needles and a white powdery substance near his body that tested positive for fentanyl.
An autopsy conducted by the medical examiner determined Morris died from acute fentanyl and carfentanil toxicity.
Investigators noted that Morris had been arrested by the sheriff’s office just over a month before his death on charges of possessing fentanyl and drug paraphernalia. During that investigation, Morris told detectives he purchased fentanyl from Newton.
On Jan. 11, 2026, deputies executed a search warrant at a hotel in Dundee and arrested Newton. Authorities said he was found in possession of multiple narcotics, including more than 2.5 kilograms of fentanyl.
“William Newton is where he needs to be—locked up and away from the community,” said Grady Judd. “He was already facing numerous felonies for various drug trafficking and possession charges, but thanks to the excellent efforts by my detectives and the State Attorney’s Office, Newton is now facing a first-degree murder charge which will hopefully keep him off the streets for the rest of his life.”
Newton remains in custody and now faces a charge of First-Degree Murder in addition to the previously filed narcotics-related offenses.