EAGLE — There is not enough evidence to send a Florida man to trial in the drug overdose deaths of two Blue Lake men, a judge ruled.
from the Eagle County jail after District Court Judge Fred Gannett ruled that the description of “a black man with a cellphone … in South Florida” was not enough to identify Brunelus as a participant in the drug overdose deaths of two Roaring Fork Valley men.
“The only evidence is that there was a black guy in South Florida carrying a phone. Mr. Brunelus did not own that phone,” Florida attorney Rick Douglas argued during Brunelus’ preliminary hearing. “A black man in South Florida with a phone is not enough. It cannot be enough.”
Gannett agreed, setting Brunelus free and dismissing the manslaughter charges.
“These cases are a high priority for me,” District Attorney Bruce Brown said in a statement. “We have an overdose epidemic on our hands, and sitting idly by and watching young people die is not an option for this office or the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office. This ruling is a setback, but there will be no surrender from this quarter.”
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