{"id":203941,"date":"2026-03-24T14:12:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T14:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/203941\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T14:12:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T14:12:24","slug":"tampa-man-faces-murder-charge-in-connection-with-fentanyl-overdose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/203941\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa man faces murder charge in connection with fentanyl overdose"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Tampa man has been arrested on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of another man who overdosed on fentanyl last summer, court records show.<\/p>\n

Timothy Sean Herndon, 37, was arrested Friday in connection with the death of Christopher Hampton, 34, on July 27. Hampton\u2019s mother found him dead in his bedroom in Ruskin early that morning, records state.<\/p>\n

Deputies found drug paraphernalia near his body, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff\u2019s Office\u2019s Opioid Overdose Investigations Section launched an investigation. Detectives found fentanyl at the scene, and an autopsy determined that Hampton fatally overdosed on the drug, records state.<\/p>\n

Detectives used cellphone records to determine that Herndon and Hampton had been texting \u201cconcerning the dispatch and delivery of a package via Uber\u2019s courier service to the decedent\u2019s residence,\u201d records state.<\/p>\n

Herndon later admitted to detectives that he had sent the drugs to Hampton, records state.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Herndon is being held in jail without bond, and prosecutors have asked a judge to keep him jailed until the case is resolved.<\/p>\n

Herndon is charged with first-degree murder from the unlawful distribution of a controlled substance.<\/p>\n

An online obituary<\/a> for Hampton said he was a Tampa native who went by the nickname CJ.<\/p>\n

CJ\u2019s love for his family was unwavering\u2014he always put others before himself and was thoughtful, gentle, and selfless in every way. He was truly a gift to his family and to this world.<\/p>\n

\u201cCJ was a man of faith, raised as a Christian, and he gave his life to Christ\u2014a decision that brings peace and comfort to those who mourn his passing,” the obituary states. \u201cHis spirit was pure, his heart full of love, and his soul undeniably beautiful.<\/p>\n

\u201cA talented artist, CJ had a deep passion for drawing. Through his art, he expressed the love, depth, and creativity that reflected who he truly was inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a pure soul\u2014kind-hearted, loving, and thoughtful. He never hesitated to lift up those around him and was always willing to give of himself. CJ\u2019s life was a blessing, and though his time here was short, his memory will live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved him.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Tampa man has been arrested on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of another…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[93776,11452,93778,43675,135,137,136,93777],"class_list":["post-203941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-christopher-hampton","tag-connection","tag-court-records-show","tag-first-degree-murder-charge","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-timothy-sean-herndon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}