A man from Broward County, at the age of 46, is undergoing trial for an accusation of committing second-degree murder. The authorities claim he was responsible for the death of a local resident of Delray Beach by selling him a lethal dose of fentanyl in August. The individual apprehended, identified as David Nuttall, was taken into custody on the last week of December. The victim, named Thomas Collura, allegedly consumed an amount of fentanyl that was sufficiently concentrated to result in immediate fatality.
The circumstances leading to his death began on an evening in August when he had an incident during his Lyft ride. The Lyft driver reported that Collura had collapsed in the backseat of her vehicle. Subsequently, Collura was rushed to the Delray Medical Center, but unfortunately, the medical intervention came too late.
Nuttall made his court appearance the following day at the Palm Beach County Jail. In attendance was county Judge Ted Booras, who appointed a public attorney for Nuttall and decreed a no-bail policy, keeping Nuttall in custody without the chance for bail.
A significant statutory law that was enacted in 2017 was brought to attention with this case. This law permits the charging of drug suppliers in cases where their transactions resulted in overdoses culminating in death. Following this legal mandate, Dave Aronberg, the Palm Beach County State Attorney, pledged to actively pursue drug suppliers involved in the distribution of lethal fentanyl-infused heroin.
Since the implementation of the law, the majority of cases have typically been settled by means of plea bargains for lesser crimes. Nuttall, having been alleged to sell the fatality causing fentanyl, puts him under the purview of this recent law.
According to the report regarding his arrest, responding officers to the August 10 emergency call were dispatched to Southeast 10th Street. They found Collura in an unresponsive state. Further investigations at the scene led to the discovery of a small bag concealed in his pocket, containing a substance resembling a small rock.
Upon testing the substance, it was found to be contaminated with methamphetamine traces. The report added that Collura had scheduled a Lyft ride on that fateful evening, to transport him from his Delray Beach home to Deerfield Beach.
Scrutiny into Collura’s cellphone record unveiled a series of text exchanges between him and Nuttall that evening. Their conversation content hinted at a prospective drug deal. The Lyft driver recall corroborates the timing of these exchanges; she reported picking up Collura just past 5 p.m. and driving him to his desired destination.
Upon reaching the location, she reported watching him alight from the vehicle and take a few steps away to seemingly confer briefly with another person. After the brief interaction, Collura re-entered the Lyft vehicle with a request to be driven back to Delray Beach. During the journey, he began complaining of a stomach ache and requested a stop at a petrol station.
As the driver finally approached Collura’s residential complex, she noticed he had fallen to the side in the rear seat. The driver immediately got out, opened the passenger door to check, and found Collura with a purplish face. He was hence forwarded for immediate medical attention at Delray Medical Center, where he subsequently lost his life.
The arrest report did not provide details about Collura’s age. However, a family member revealed that he had been residing in Delray Beach for about four years, during which he sought treatment for his struggles with substance and alcohol addiction.
In the weeks leading up to his unfortunate demise, Collura was expelled from a rehabilitation house. He had made plans to temporarily move in with a relative in Long Island, New York, until he could arrange a more secure and improved living condition.
The unusual circumstances surrounding the case of Collura’s death highlight the dire consequences of drug transactions. It also underpins the pressing importance of strict application of new legislative measures that aim to hold drug dealers accountable for overdose deaths attributed to the substances they deal in.