John Jefferson
Left: Makayla Peacock. Right: Mallery James (Sandy Springs Police Department).
Makayla Peacock, only 19 years old, is dead, and police in Georgia say that is because she ate fentanyl-laced pills sold to her by Mallery James when the young women met up at a Taco Bell parking lot in Forsyth County in July.
Police say Peacock bought them from James for $100.
James is also 19 years old.
James, according to a statement from Sandy Springs Police shared on Facebook, is charged with aggravated involuntary manslaughter causing a fentanyl overdose. In April, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill into law known as “Austin’s Law” which created the category of “aggravated involuntary manslaughter” and allows for the conviction of anyone who causes someone to die by the manufacturing or selling of a substance containing fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Police said that Peacock was found unresponsive in her home when Sandy Springs Police responded to a medical call there on June 6. Local ABC affiliate WSB reported that Peacock was found by her mother, slumped over in bed and nonresponsive.
A toxicology report by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Peacock died of a fentanyl overdose, and detectives said through their investigation they learned that James allegedly sold the pills to her. An arrest warrant was issued and James was booked into the Fulton County Jail on July 25.
James made her first appearance before a judge for a preliminary hearing in Fulton County on Aug. 16. She was released on a bond of $50,000.
It is unclear what connection, if any, existed among the women prior to Peacock’s death.
In an online obituary for Peacock, her family said the Atlanta native was an “amazing young lady who lit up every room she was in.”
“She loved fearlessly and was loved by all who knew her,” the obituary states.
Peacock is survived by her mother and brother.
The DEA reported that in 2023, a record 79.5 million fentanyl pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder were seized across the U.S.
Though fentanyl is seen as a national epidemic, DEA agents told local news outlet WXIA that the Atlanta metro area has proven to be a particular hot spot. In May, a study revealed that roughly 22 teens between the ages of just 14 and 18 are dying weekly from drug overdoses or poisonings. And many of those deaths are directly tied to fentanyl, according to the DEA.
The law James was prosecuted under, “Austin’s Law,” stemmed from the September 2021 overdose suffered by Austin Walters. Walters suffered from anxiety and died after taking a single Xanax pill laced with fentanyl that he bought off the black market. His parents pushed the Georgia Senate to pass legislation that would up the penalty for deaths caused by the powerful opioid.
Before Austin’s Law was passed, one of its sponsors in the Georgia Senate, District 8 Sen. Russ Goodman, told WXIA that he hoped the legislation would deter drug dealers from hiding behind claims that they didn’t know the drugs they sold someone had fentanyl in them.
With the vast spread of the drug, someone “selling this stuff knows there is a good chance that it could be laced with fentanyl,” he said.
An attorney for James could not immediately be reached for comment, told WSB that “our thoughts and prayers are with the family of everyone touched by this tragedy.”
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