A Santa Clarita man was charged with dealing a drug three times more powerful than fentanyl, causing one fatal overdose, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Arraigned on Wednesday, Benjamin Anthony Collins, 21, was charged with one count of distribution of protonitazene that resulted in what the DOJ says could be the nation’s first death-resulting criminal case involving this narcotic.

The indictment alleges Collins knowingly and intentionally dealt protonitazene to a victim in the early morning hours of April 19, 2024. The DOJ only identified the victim as a 22-year-old man from Stevenson Ranch.

The Los Angeles Times reports that hours before his death, the victim called Collins asking for Percocet pills, and Collins sold him five oxycodone pills for $20 each. 

Also included in the L.A. Times’ report was a recount of text messages between the two before the drug deal that were shown in court documents: “I need real Perc’s tho…. Cuz my boy just died…. I get worried,” texted the victim. 

According to the report, Collins responded by saying, “yeah bro same with my best friend bro. He just died 3 days ago. Off fake pills.” He also then said, “those fake Perc’s get you . . I test all my [expletive] … negative evry time.”

Soon after the deal, the DOJ says the 22-year-old took the pills in the front seat of his car and quickly died. His mother found him parked outside her home and called 911, officials say.

“In recent years, protonitazene has been sold over the internet and is believed to be several times more powerful than fentanyl, which itself is 50 times stronger than heroin,” the DOJ wrote in a statement released Thursday.

According to the World Health Organization, protonitazene and other “nitazenes” were first synthesized in the late 1950s as “novel opioid alternatives to morphine,” but were soon abandoned and never approved for medical use.

The DOJ says Collins, in addition to giving the victim the pills that ended his life, had planned on also selling him a bulk supply of the same drugs in the future.

Collins was arrested on Monday, Nov. 18, and he pleaded not guilty on Wednesday. He is scheduled for a trial date in January, and meanwhile is being held without bail.

If convicted, Collins would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

RIO GRANDE CITY, TEXAS– Latino Americans who live along the southern border in Rio Grande City, Texas, criticized the notion that misogyny and racism played a role in Vice President Kamala Harris losing the 2024 election.

“The left tries to push the ‘you’re racist and misogynistic because you didn’t vote for this woman of color,’” said Marcus, a native of Rio Grande City. 

The chairperson of the Starr County Republican Party explained further, “And then coming after us or scolding the Black and Hispanic voter — whatever happened to just we’re all Americans. You know, it has nothing to do with racism or misogyny. It’s who’s fit and best for office.”

People seeking asylum, including a group from Peru, walk behind a Border Patrol agent towards a van to be processed after crossing the border with Mexico nearby, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Boulevard, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

“I think that’s an old party line from the Democrats. They keep trying to divide us by race and sex. And I don’t believe that,” said Ross, another native of Rio Grande City.

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ARE TRUMP SUPPORTERS OF COLOR RACIST OR MISOGYNISTS? BLACK TRUMP VOTERS IN DETROIT REACT

Rio Grande City, located in south central Texas, makes up a portion of the greater Rio Grande Valley, an area that has had frequent border crossings of illegal immigrants. The seat of Starr County, Rio Grande City’s Hispanic population is 42% and was a stronghold for the Democrats for over 100 years.

President-elect Donald Trump’s lopsided victory in Texas included winning Starr County, a deep blue county that hadn’t flipped in 132 years. According to the Associated Press, the incoming commander-in-chief won about 57.7% of the vote in Starr County.

Immigration and the economy were among the top concerns for Trump voters.

The U.S. southern border near El Paso, Texas.  (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

After Trump’s decisive victory against Harris, Democrats and media pundits began an autopsy of the election results, which showed the Democratic Party’s loss of support from previously reliable voters: Black and Latino men.

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“With that laughter she had, she wasn’t serious. She didn’t know much, really, I can tell that. That’s why I didn’t vote for her either,” Rio Grande City resident José said.

AMERICANS WANT TO SEE TRUMP ADDRESS ECONOMY, INFLATION UPON RETURN TO WHITE HOUSE

Black and Hispanic men supported the GOP presidential nominee in historic margins on Election Day, showing a growing multi-racial working class coalition in the Republican Party. Black and Latino attraction to Trump prompted “Morning Joe” co-anchor Joe Scarborough to reflect about the voters’ choices in a conversation with fellow MSNBC host Al Sharpton.

“Democrats need to be mature, and they need to be honest. And they need to say, ‘Yes, there is misogyny, but it’s not just misogyny from White men,’” Scarborough said the day after the election. 

Furthermore, the Rio Grande City locals reacted to former President Barack Obama suggesting that misogyny potentially played a role in Black men’s lack of support for the Democratic presidential nominee.

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Latino Americans who live along the southern border slammed the notion that misogyny and racism played a role in Vice President Kamala Harris losing the election.

“I don’t agree with what Obama said, because we have other women that have been elected, maybe not necessarily president,” Claudia said.

She went on to say, “She was elected vice. But my understanding is she didn’t make it through the primary. He should have gotten a better candidate.”

“There’s many reasons that Hispanics and Latinos and the Black people did not support Kamala Harris,” said Oneida, a resident of Rio Grande City.

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Joshua Q. Nelson is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

Joshua focuses on politics, education policy ranging from the local to the federal level, and the parental uprising in education.

Joining Fox News Digital in 2019, he previously graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Political Science and is an alum of the National Journalism Center and the Heritage Foundation’s Young Leaders Program. 

Story tips can be sent to joshua.nelson@fox.com and Joshua can be followed on Twitter and LinkedIn. 

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A family is still searching for their missing pit bull, Blue, who disappeared moments before the Mountain Fire took their house in the hills above Camarillo on Nov. 6.

In a rush to escape the flames, Madison O’Donnell, 30, and her father were trying to get their three dogs into the car when a gas tank in a nearby car exploded, startling the dogs, the VC Star reports.

The two dogs that ran into the house were quickly rounded up according to the report, but the 10-year-old pit bull disappeared.

“They searched as the fire spread to their house, her dad running in to check one more time,” details the VC Star. “Still, no Blue.”

O’Donnell and her dad returned to their home on Estaban Drive later that day to look again, but both Blue and their house were gone.

According to the report, O’Donnell says Blue is “the sweetest boy,” who loves sunbathing and has a unique run described as a sort of gallop or “more of a hopping dance.”

O’Donnell also notes that Blue is hard of hearing, but can always sniff out her dad.

“Her dad’s shirts hang on the gate near what she now calls ‘the lot’ instead of home,” reported the VC Star.

The family has also posted signs around their town and online and has reached out to shelters and rescues for help. They’ve even sifted through the rubble of their home to search for his remains, but have not found any.

O’Donnell told the VC Star that sometimes she finds hope in knowing that Blue once survived on his own in an Oxnard field for a time until he ended up at the shelter where she and her father rescued him from about two years ago.

O’Donnell is asking anyone with information on Blue’s whereabouts or possible sightings to email helpusfindblue10@gmail.com.