Arrest made in connection with Boyce overdose death

BOYCE, La. (KALB) - On August 10, 2022, the Boyce Police Department held a press conference regarding the death of 48-year-old Charntel Baty.

Boyce PD said they received a call about an unresponsive woman on March 2. When officers arrived on the scene, they found Baty dead from a suspected drug overdose. Derrick Ford, 46, who police say was romantically involved with Baty, was also on the scene at the time.

After Baty’s post-mortem toxicology results showed she had died of an opioid overdose, Ford was brought in for questioning, and a search warrant was obtained for Ford’s phone.

Investigators discovered evidence to suggest Ford was the one who sold Baty the opioids, and an arrest warrant was issued for him on July 20.

”The evidence pretty much spoke for itself, along with the opiates that he gave her and the fact that she even said prior that ‘dope was his (Ford’s) thing’. From that point we began our investigation, it continued and continued, the coroner contacted us and gave us all the proper paperwork, and we began to talk to witnesses stating the exact same story. Everything coincided and probable cause was formed for his arrest,” said Lt. Garret Greer, BPD.

BPD said Ford agreed to turn himself in on July 24, but he instead fled the state. On August 1, BPD issued a press release asking for the public’s help locating Ford. This was the first time the public was notified that a homicide had occurred.

On August 6, Ford was found and arrested in Los Angeles, where he awaits extradition back to Louisiana, where he faces one count of second-degree murder.

“As of right now, we have a second-degree homicide. The investigation is still ongoing, so there may be other charges, there may not be, but right now second-degree homicide is the one charge we are going with until the investigation is closed,” said Lt. Greer.

At the time of the press conference, no date has been set for Ford’s extradition.

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