POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Dundee man is facing a first-degree murder charge after a grand jury indicted him for selling the fentanyl that killed a Davenport resident last year.
The indictment, handed down on May 14, 2026, stems from an investigation by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Organized Crime Unit. Authorities state that 39-year-old William Benjamin Newton, Jr. sold fentanyl to 55-year-old Terry Morris just after midnight on December 14, 2025. Security cameras outside the Block Hotel in Winter Haven captured the transaction.
The following day, Morris was found dead inside his home on Adair Road in Davenport. Investigators at the scene recovered several hypodermic needles alongside a white powder that later tested positive for fentanyl. An autopsy conducted by the Medical Examiner determined the official cause of death to be acute fentanyl and Carfentanil toxicity.
Detectives already had Newton on their radar due to a previous encounter with Morris. A month before his fatal overdose, Morris had been arrested by Polk County deputies for possession of fentanyl and drug paraphernalia. During that arrest, Morris explicitly named Newton as his supplier.
Law enforcement caught up with Newton on January 11, 2026, during the execution of a search warrant at a hotel in Dundee. Deputies arrested Newton after finding him with multiple narcotics, including more than 2.5 kilograms of fentanyl.
Following the grand jury’s decision, Sheriff Grady Judd released a statement regarding the case and the team effort required to secure the indictment.
“William Newton is where he needs to be—locked up and away from the community,” Sheriff Judd said. “He was already facing numerous felonies for various drug trafficking and possession charges, but thanks to the excellent efforts by my detectives and the State Attorney’s Office, Newton is now facing a first-degree murder charge which will hopefully keep him off the streets for the rest of his life.”
Newton remains in custody as the legal process moves forward.
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