Alleged Bay Area fentanyl dealer charged with murder in 2024 overdose death
By Tim Fang
Nearly two years after a drug overdose death in Contra Costa County, authorities have arrested and charged the suspected dealer with murder.
According to the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, a 20-year-old Orinda resident died in September 2024. Deputies said the cause of death was determined to be “acute fentanyl and para-flurofentanyl intoxication.”
Detectives with the sheriff’s office determined where the drugs were purchased and later identified the suspected dealer. An arrest warrant was obtained.
Authorities arrested the suspect in the city of Alameda on Thursday. The suspect, identified as 26-year-old Ulzii Orshikh Batsukh, was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on a murder charge.
On Thursday afternoon, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office formally charged Batsukh with murder for selling narcotics laced with fentanyl that led to the death. Deputies said Batsukh is being held without bail, with jail records showing he is scheduled to appear in court Friday.
Prosecutors have increasingly charged suspected dealers with murder following overdose deaths. Last year, a suspected drug dealer from San Jose was charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of two children exposed to fentanyl.
In 2024, a jury in Placer County was the first in the state to convict a fentanyl dealer of murder.
Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to contact the sheriff’s office investigation division at 925-313-2600. Tips can also be sent via email to tips@so.cccounty.us or by calling 866-846-3592.
