PLACER COUNTY, Calif. — A fentanyl murder case in Placer County Superior Court was declared a mistrial Friday 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 this mistake was a simple human error and was not nefarious.
Conversations about what to do with the Carson Schewe, 20, case will start March 7, the DA’s office said.
The fentanyl murder trial is the county’s first, and it centered on Schewe, who is accused of dealing 20-year-old Kade Webb pills leading to his death by fentanyl poisoning in December 2021.
While Schewe’s fentanyl murder jury trial was the first in Placer County, it is not the first conviction the county has returned for murder in a fentanyl death in California.
“Today, the Schewe murder trial was delayed when it was discovered that an independent lab that conducted testing in the case mistakenly failed to transmit a summary report,” the DA’s office said Friday in a statement. “This report first became known to both the prosecution and defense during yesterday’s testimony… The defendant remains in custody without bail with the same charges pending.”
The mistrial allows both sides to have a fresh restart and ensure a jury will not be biased in the case due to the information given during Thursday's court hearing.
“The prosecution goes first in these cases, and so it was like a dress rehearsal for the defense to hear what these witnesses had to say… hear the questions the prosecution asked of the jury as well when they were selecting them. It kind of gives the defense a little bit of an advantage with this false start," said Mark Reichel, a criminal defense attorney not working this case.
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.
ABC10 previously reported potential jurors for Schewe’s first trial were asked questions about their drug use or family member's drug use.
Prior to Schewe’s first trial Tuesday, Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire shared that two of Schewe's friends, including his girlfriend, overdosed before Webb.
WATCH MORE: Placer County fentanyl murder trial underway
