An Austin man was charged with murder in connection with a fentanyl-related death in Leander. Michael Woodruff, 44, faces up to 99 years in prison if convicted. The victim, Steven Hancock, died on April 11, according to an arrest affidavit. The affidavit does not include information about Hancock’s age.
Leander police were alerted after EMS notified them about a narcotics overdose in the 700 block of Encanto Drive on April 11. the affidavit said. It said someone at the house had administered Narcan, which is used to reverse opiod overdoses, to Hancock but he didn’t respond. Paramedics administered lifesaving measures but Hancock died on the scene at 11:03 a.m., the document said.
A friend at the house told police that he and Hancock had smoked fentanyl together multiple times in the weeks before Hancock died. He said he and Hancock had gone to a Wal-Mart parking lot the night before Hancock died, according to the affidavit. It said Hancock told the friend to go inside while Hancock met with another man. The friend never saw the man that Hancock met with, the affidavit said. It said the friend told police that he had last seen Hancock smoking fentanyl in the car in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
He said he had last seen Hancock alive when Hancock came into the kitchen of the house on Encanto Drive about an hour before Hancock died, according to the affidavit.
It said police found text messages between Woodruff that showed he and Hancock had set up a meeting with each other at Walmart the night before Hancock died. The text messages also showed that previously Hancock and Woodruff had met with each other so that Hancock could sell Woodruff methamphetamine and Woodruff could sell Hancock fentanyl, the affidavit said.
Data from cell towers showed that Woodruff was in the Walmart area the night before Hancock died, police said. Hancock also called Woodruff four times that night, the affidavit said. The medical examiner’s report showed that Hancock’s cause of death was caused by the toxic effects of fentanyl, methamphetamine and methadone, according to the affidavit.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that sometimes is prescribed legally for pain management but can be fatal when used illegally because even small amounts can kill a person. Two milligrams, equal to about 10 to 15 grains of table salt, is enough to kill somebody, according to Texas Health and Human Services.
Under a state law that became effective in September 2023, a person can be charged with murder if through their drug distribution or dealing of fentanyl someone else dies. If they are convicted, the minimum sentence is 15 years.