A Garland man has been arrested for the murder of a 23-year-old Wylie man who died of a fentanyl overdose.

Wylie police reported Thursday, Feb. 15, that Garland resident Kennedy Kirby, 30, was charged with murder.

The investigation began with the Jan. 11 overdose death in Wylie of Jacob Bowers.

On Feb. 6, Wylie investigators working with the Dallas Police executed an arrest and search warrant for an apartment in Dallas where Kirby was located. The search resulted in the seizure of 22.3 grams of raw fentanyl, 1,436 fentanyl pills, 1,054 pills containing Xanax and fentanyl, a handgun, cash and drug paraphernalia consistent delivering illegal narcotics.

Kirby was arrested for Manufacturing/Delivery of a Controlled Substance, but his charges were upgraded to murder following the release of Bowers’ toxicology report. Wylie police detectives determined that Kirby used “an unsuspecting Uber driver” to deliver a package containing fentanyl to Bowers.

“Fentanyl is a growing problem in our country,” Chief Anthony Henderson said. “The Wylie Police Department will thoroughly investigate all cases of overdose and hold those persons responsible for placing fentanyl in our community.”

Kirby is being held at the Collin County Detention Facility.

For more stories about the Wylie community, see the next print or digital edition of The Wylie News. Subscribe today and support local journalism.