Santa Cruz man given 10 year prison sentence for giving 16-year-old girl fentanyl-laced drugs

A California man who gave a fentanyl-laced Percocet and other drugs to a 16-year-old girl who died from an overdose was convicted and sentenced to 10 years on Tuesday. 

Michael James Russell, 24, was convicted of seven felonies in connection to the death of Emma Lace Price, 16, who died on November 12 with four separate drugs in her system. 

Prosecutors said Russell gave Price Xanax and fentanyl-laced Percocet and when she began to overdose took off her clothes and put her in a cold shower to wake her up. He also gave her Narcan but waited half an hour to call 911. 

In August, Price's parents filed a civil suit against Russell and his parents alleging that the man had a 'history of preying on young/underage girls and providing then with drugs. They also allege that his parents were aware of this and allowed 'sex and drugs' at their home.

In an interview last fall, Jill Price, the girl's mother said 'it's killing me right now, I feel anger that I've never felt before' regarding her death. 

This is 16-year-old Emma Lace Price who died of an overdose inside the home of Michael James Russell, 23. At the time of her death, Price had four narcotics in her system

Michael James Price, 23, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges connected to Price's overdose

An initial investigation into the girl's death found that Russell was one of multiple people to give Price drugs in the days leading up to her death. 

On the night she died, Russell had given her the Xanax and fentanyl-laced Percocet which led to her overdose. 

Emma later died of an acute fentanyl toxicity, according to the autopsy. 

Investigations done by local journalists uncovered that the girl's death may have been entirely preventable.  

Six weeks prior to Price's death, the Watsonville Police Department received a call from a young girl who said Russell had harassed her and sold fentanyl-laced Percocet to another girl who died. 

Watsonville is located just 10 miles from the Corralito home where Price was found dead and is located in Santa Cruz County.  

The girl said the police dismissed her claims as 'ex drama.' 

Watsonville police told NBC Bay Area in July they stand by the responding officer's actions. 

Prosecutors said Russell and those in the home waited a half hour to call 911 for Price's overdose

Russell attempted to give Price CPR and gave her Narcan after her overdose

In an interview last fall, Jill Price, the girl's mother said 'it's killing me right now, I feel anger that I've never felt before' regarding her death

Russell was charged with seven counts connected to the overdose death and sexual activity with Price and another underage girl

Russell had previously been accused of selling fentanyl-laced Percocet to another girl

In spite of that claim, Russell was not charged directly in the girl's death. 

The Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office considered additional charges but said they could not prove without a reasonable doubt he is culpable for her death, according to local reports. 

In 2022, Emma's father, Michael Price, said he hoped they would add further charges to the man's case.

'I would [like to see] murder or manslaughter [charges],' he told NBC Bay Area. 

The local TV station spoke with the Santa Clara County District Attorney, Jeff Rosen, who said at the time that statewide prosecutors were beginning to crackdown on murder and manslaughter charges to only certain cases. 

'When we can prove that the drug dealer knew how dangerous fentanyl was – knew that the people could die from using just a tiny amount or using it once and sold it anyways to put profit over human life,' Rosen said. 

After her death, Price's parents filed a civil lawsuit against Russell and his parents, accusing him of having a 'history of preying on young/underage girls'

In a statement to NBC Bay Area in 2022, Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Johanna Schonfield said she couldn't talk specifics on the case but said the department is working to increase awareness and education. 

'The death to me is too late for [it to be] the focus, to be the emphasis; the tragedy has already occurred,' she said. 

'I believe that the emphasis should be further upstream…Why are people using drugs to begin with? Why are children actively online engaging in drug-seeking behavior?' the assistant DA said. 

Schonfield also said their primary focus in on stopping future incidents and putting those responsible behind bars. 

'We are holding drug dealers accountable. The District Attorney's Office is committed to seeking justice,' she said.

In July, six deputies and detectives appeared in court to detail the events of Price's death and it was revealed it took them four days to label the girl's death as suspicious

A former police detective said he had never seen such a 'high level of indifference' in a case like the one into Price's death

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department initially faced backlash for their handling of the case. 

In July, six deputies and detectives appeared in court to detail the events of Price's death and it was revealed it took them four days to label the girl's death as suspicious. 

Two of the sheriff's crime scene investigators said they were not assigned until days after her overdose when her body had already been removed from the scene, witnesses had left, and prosecutors alleged evidence may have been tampered with and destroyed. 

'I believe this actually rises to the title of gross police misconduct. This is an investigation that was not treated seriously from the inception,' said retired San Jose police detective Michael Leininger.

'[Deputies] showed a high level of indifference in this investigation, unlike I've ever seen,' he said.

One of the items that could have been tampered with was Price's phone which Price may have attempted to destroy. 

Prosecutors later added a charge of destroying evidence to his case. 

Russell pleaded not guilty to all seven counts. 

In August, Michael and Jill Price filed a civil suit against Russell and his parents, directly accusing them of being responsible for the death of their daughter. 

In the civil suit, Price's mother and father allege 'Lace Price suffered an acute drug overdose as a result of the fentanyl-laced narcotics Mikey Russell provided her.' 

The suit goes on to accuse Russell's parents of knowing their son 'had a history of preying on young/underage girls' and allowing 'sex and drugs' at their home. 

'Lace Price's parents filed this civil suit in order to get the full story of what happened to their young daughter, to prevent it from happening to another, and to hold responsible parties accountable,' attorney Lesley Harris said in a statement.  

'Lace's parents want and deserve to know what happened,' Harris said. 

The next hearing in that case is scheduled for March 6.