PLACER COUNTY, Calif. — A jury decided Tuesday that a man at the center of Placer County's first fentanyl murder jury trial is guilty on all charges.
Carson Schewe, 23, was found guilty of selling fentanyl to a man who later died. A jury of 12 people, including four women and eight men, decided Schewe should be convicted of murder in the death of Kade Webb.
Webb was the cousin of San Francisco Giants pitcher and Rocklin High School alum, Logan Webb. Webb died in December 2021, two days shy of Logan's wedding.
The jury had to decide on three charges including second-degree murder and two counts of possession for sale. Schewe waived his right to a trial on the additional circumstances and aggravations. A judge will now decide if there will be additional penalties when sentencing is discussed. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 5.
This was Placer County’s second attempt to prosecute Schewe. The first was declared a mistrial due to an issue with an independent lab not providing a report.
While Schewe’s murder charge in a fentanyl death was the first in Placer County, it is not the first conviction the county has returned for murder in a fentanyl death.
Placer County’s first fentanyl murder conviction was Nathaniel Cabacungan. He was the first person in the state of California to be convicted of murder in a fentanyl death. Cabacungan was convicted of murder in July 2023 after the death of a 15-year-old girl. He received 15 years to life in prison.
Just two milligrams of fentanyl, which is equal to about 10-15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Fentanyl is dangerous because it's 50x more potent than heroin and 100x more potent than morphine, according to the CDC.
Trial History
Prosecution
Placer County prosecutors opened with an image of what the 23-year-old posted on Snapchat. It was followed by a video of Schewe, counting stacks of money and saying it was all from Percocet and marijuana.
The prosecutor said the drugs found in Webb’s body matched the drugs Schewe had.
GPS data also showed the two of them together at Schewe’s apartment on the day of Webb’s death. Schewe also took a video of himself with the pills in the apartment.
They showed a text message from Schewe saying “Iose a best friend every month now everything laced with fent now, let me know if you need that.”
Defense
The defense said this murder trial is about Placer County feeling pressure from the community to do something about fentanyl.
They said Schewe is a street-level dealer and should only be held accountable for the possession charges, not murder. They said he didn’t intend to kill Webb because he himself was using at that time.
They also said Schewe told Webb there was fentanyl in the pills.
Mistrial
A mistrial was declared in March after it was discovered an independent lab failed to transmit a report, according to the Placer County District Attorney’s Office.
The DA's office says the mistake was a simple human error and was not nefarious.
Watch more on ABC10 | Placer County's first fentanyl murder trial awaits verdict
