The murder conviction and life sentence of a convicted drug dealer for the 2021 fentanyl death of a University of Louisiana at Lafayette student has been confirmed by an appeals court.
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a Lafayette jury’s 2023 second-degree murder conviction of Damien Dashaun Bernard, 29, of Arnaudville, and the 2024 life sentence imposed by 15th Judicial District Judge Royale Colbert.
Bernard was found guilty of selling fentanyl-laced drugs to UL student JonTerez “JT” Broussard. During a night out with friends in downtown Lafayette, Broussard bought what she believed was cocaine.
She actually purchased heroin and fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has contributed to a rise in overdose deaths across the nation.
Broussard was rendered unconscious and died a week after consuming the drugs. Her blood revealed a level of fentanyl nearly double the minimal fatal concentration.
During the trial, Assistant District Attorney Lance Beal presented a timeline of the night that Broussard died, leading up to a final phone call the woman made to Bernard before she lost consciousness. A friend who was present testified that Broussard demanded Bernard tell her what drugs he gave her.
Beal argued that, without the presence of fentanyl, Broussard would not have died.
Bernard’s defense attorney did not provide evidence or witnesses in the trial.
The case is believed by the district attorney’s office to be one of the first in Louisiana where a drug dealer was tried for second-degree murder and possibly the first in the nation where the drug dealer was sentenced to life in prison.
This was the first of two convictions the district attorney’s office in Lafayette secured of drug dealers selling fentanyl to people who died.