A Columbia County man facing a charge of murder for allegedly supplying the drug that caused another man to overdose was denied bond Monday, Feb. 28.
Colin J. Magill, 30, was indicted Feb. 3 on a charge of felony murder. He is accused of causing the death of 28-year-old Alex King on July 19, 2020, by selling him fentanyl, a powerful pain medication 100 times stronger than morphine.
Monday in Columbia County Superior Court, defense attorney Richard Goolsby Sr. asked Judge Sheryl B. Jolly to set bond for Magill whose only prior criminal conviction was for misdemeanor marijuana possession. Magill has lived his entire life in Columbia County, and he has worked at the same job for a private plumbing company for several years, Goolsby said.
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But Assistant District Attorney Natalie Paine asked the judge to deny bond, saying Magill could be a potential danger if he were to sell lethal drugs to others. In the year before King died, King and Magill exchanged over 900 messages, most about King buying drugs from Magill, Paine said. Within half an hour of his last purchase, King and a second man were found unconscious on the lawn of a Martinez home, she said.
An autopsy revealed King has ingested 27 milligrams of fentanyl. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, 2 milligrams can be a fatal dose. Magill, the prosecutor said, admitted he gave the final pills to King.
Magill’s defense attorney countered that the prosecution would not be able to meet the necessary legal standard for felony murder in an overdose case, even if it is proven that Magill provided the drugs. To prove murder in an overdose case the state must prove the accused knowingly provided a fatal dose, Goolsby said.
Jolly denied the request to set bond, finding Magill could pose a danger of committing additional crimes.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.Â
