Family speaks out after losing loved one to overdose

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - An aunt is speaking out after her niece, Tracy Marlar, died from a drug overdose. Sheila Lane and her daughter, Sarah Hinkson, are still dealing with the shock and devastation.

“I don’t think she even thought it was going to be close to what did happen,” Lane said.

Hinkson said Marlar was planning on being back home the night of her overdose. Hinkson added there was money in her wallet that she was going to use to pay an electric bill.

Lane described Marlar as bubbly, fun, and always helping other people.

According to court documents, Marlar was found dead from a fentanyl overdose on March 5 in Jonesboro.

An affidavit stated during questioning, Randy Joe Coaker admitted to selling pills to Marlar that he said could have been laced with fentanyl.

Hinkson said Marlar was 35 years old and still had a lot of life to live, including fulfilling her dream of becoming a mother.

“She had already started the process with IVF. She was going to go in, I believe, the next two months to start the process,” Hinkson said.

Coaker is charged with homicide-aggravated death by delivery. Lane said she was glad to see the charge. She believes people who sell drugs to someone, and it ends in their death, should be held accountable.

Sonia Hagood, the prosecuting attorney for Arkansas’ 2nd Judicial District, said this is the first time the district has been able to charge someone with aggravated death by delivery.

“Others, we’re still in the process of investigating. So, anticipate there will be a lot more of this particular charge in the future,” Hagood said.

This comes after the Fentanyl Enforcement and Accountability Act of 2023 was passed in the last legislative session. Hagood said it’s changed prosecutions related to overdose deaths.

“Those people would normally be charged with just distribution of narcotics,” Hagood said. “Now, we have the ability to actually charge them under the new statute with a homicide.”

While the law is still relatively new, Hagood said it can be difficult to trace the drug back to the dealer and pursue death by delivery charges.

“It involves a lot of work by law enforcement to make sure that you’re connecting that particular dose that the victim has taken to the dealer,” Hagood said. “That can be a tedious process.”

According to the affidavit, police went through Marlar’s phone and found texts and a Cash App transaction connecting Coaker to selling Marlar pills.

Hagood said not just in Arkansas, but all over the country, fentanyl is becoming more common.

“It’s in the most innocuous drugs. You see high schoolers who use marijuana periodically,” Hagood said. “You can’t do that anymore. There’s going to be fentanyl in some of that.”

Looking to the future, Hagood doesn’t plan on taking it easy on defendants in cases involving fatal overdoses.

Now, Marlar’s family members want to raise awareness of the danger of fentanyl and are encouraging others to pay attention.

“If you’re selling them, just stop,” Lane said. “There’s other ways of making money than just risking your life, your future, and other people’s lives.”

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said there have been around 10 cases across the state where prosecutors have been able to pursue death by delivery charges.

The Attorney General’s office will be hosting a workshop in the next few weeks to discuss the law.

“We want to make sure that all of our prosecutors are ready to use this law appropriately,” Griffin said.

He said the state is making progress in the fight against illegal drugs, but it’s going to be a long process.

To report a typo or correction, please click here.

Copyright 2024 KAIT. All rights reserved.