Deputies arrest man for controlled substance homicide following Blaine woman's fentanyl overdose death
BLAINE, Wash. - The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office arrested a man in connection to a deadly 2021 fentanyl overdose.
On May 7, 2021, 30-year-old Aeschli Wilkinson was found dead on E. Street in Blaine. A medical examiner's toxicology report indicated fentanyl was in Wilkinson's system.
Investigators found that Wilkinson had been in contact with a man named Tanner Larson about obtaining painkillers. According to messages between them, Larson allegedly sold Wilkinson pills on multiple occasions between April 28 and May 6.
On Aug. 3, following an investigation, officials arrested Larson for controlled substances homicide. When he was arrested, police discovered a backpack they say contained cash, a zip lock bag with an unidentified powder, four empty zip lock bags, burnt foil with narcotic residue and a bag with about 100 blue M-30 fentanyl pills, which weighed 12.9 gross-weight grams.
"Fentanyl in its clandestine form is a deadly drug," said Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo. "The Sheriff’s Office will continue to prioritize the investigation of deaths resulting from the street sale of this drug as homicides. Potential users of this drug should be aware of its lethal nature and those that deal in the drug should know that if a death results, they will be charged with homicide. I’m very proud of the efforts of our detectives in building this and all recent fentanyl investigations."
In addition to controlled substances homicide, Larson was also booked into Whatcom County Jail on delivery of controlled substance-fentanyl and delivery of a counterfeit substance charges.