OAKLAND — A woman has been charged with advertising drugs online after the mother of a 21-year-old overdose victim told police that her son got the drugs from an Instagram account authorities say was operated by the defendant.
Chynna Crosby, of Oakland, was charged in federal court with advertising controlled substances on the internet, a federal offense that carries a maximum four-year prison term. The complaint was unsealed July 21, the same day Crosby made her first court appearance and was released on an unsecured $50,000 bond, court records show.
The criminal complaint alleges that the 21-year-old man died of fentanyl and Xanax intoxication in August 2020. His mother told authorities she believed he bought the drugs from someone using the Instagram handle “ceeepaysoo” and investigators found a direct message conversation where the man asked for “3b,” believed to be slang for prescription pills.
Authorities searched Crosby’s home in February 2021 after tying her to the account. The complaint alleges she denied direct involvement in the drug deal that preceded the fatal overdose but admitted to driving “a friend” to sell the 21-year-old man pills.
“During the interview, Crosby admitted to using her Instagram account ‘ceeepaysoo’ to advertise, offer to sell, and to sell alprazolam bars and M30s, but claimed that any postings or messages related to M30s were not her drugs and instead were on behalf of a friend,” Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Jeffrey Beckett wrote in the complaint. “Crosby further admitted to numerous suspected drug deals that were in her Instagram direct messages.”
This is the latest example of Bay Area federal prosecutors charging suspected drug dealers in connection with a fatal overdose, including the recent prosecution of a Monterey-area man allegedly linked to two fatal overdoses.
Source: www.mercurynews.com