Man who allegedly sold drugs being charged
By Tom Blakey
Transcript Staff Writer
A 22-year-old University of Oklahoma student who died in a high-speed, multiple-collision, rollover accident near Lindsey Street and Berry Road in May, had ingested psilocybin mushrooms prior to the accident, was hallucinating and thought something was after him, according to documents filed Friday in Cleveland County District Court.
The man who allegedly sold the student the mushrooms, Justin Cole Gentry, 22, Norman, is being charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled dangerous substance, according to District Attorney Greg Mashburn.
"This is a very serious charge," Mashburn said. "A lot of people are under the impression that it's OK to possess drugs or provide drugs to friends. But here's a case where doing so directly led to a man's death and one can clearly see the danger in that type of activity."
An investigation revealed the accident victim, William Powell, was "hanging out and partying with friends" at an apartment in the 2000 block of West Lindsey Street the evening of May 5, Mashburn said.
After interviewing witnesses at the party, investigators said Gentry admitted selling six grams of mushrooms for $50 to Powell and another man, who had pooled their money to purchase the hallucinogen.
Witnesses said Powell, after ingesting the mushrooms, began to "trip out" and "thought that spiders were on him and something was coming to get him," according to a police affidavit.
Shortly before 10 p.m., Powell ran from the apartment, jumped into his vehicle and fled, driving erratically and at a high rate of speed eastbound on West Lindsey Street, police said. Minutes later, Powell was involved in and caused several collisions on West Lindsey Street.
Police said the vehicle Powell was driving struck three westbound vehicles and one eastbound vehicle before rolling over near Berry Road. Powell was partially ejected from the vehicle and was transported to Norman Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
A Norman woman and a juvenile also were transported to the hospital after sustaining injuries in the collisions. Both were treated and released, according to the accident report.
According to the OU student directory, Powell was a sophomore in the College of Continuing Education with a permanent address in Enid.
A warrant was being requested for Gentry's arrest. He had not been booked into the Cleveland County Detention Center Friday evening.
Tom Blakey 366-3540 tblakey@normantranscript.com
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