Mercury News: Disgraced pharmacy worker charged with murder in South Bay overdose

SAN JOSE — A one-time pharmacy worker whose state credential was revoked after he stole narcotics from his employer is facing a murder charge for allegedly selling cocaine secretly laced with fentanyl to a South Bay woman who died from an overdose last year.

Benjamin Nathan Williams, 34, of San Jose, was charged Friday with one count of murder and a felony drug sales count in connection with the Feb. 13, 2023, death of 26-year-old Hope Noel Warrick at her home in unincorporated Morgan Hill.

Williams is being held in the Elmwood men’s jail in Milpitas in lieu of $71,000 bail. He was scheduled to be arraigned Monday, but the hearing was postponed to Wednesday after he did not appear in court.

The criminal complaint accuses Williams of telling Warrick through Instagram the previous night that he had included an unspecified addition to the cocaine he was selling her. An investigative summary written by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office states that they obtained messages that “clearly indicated that (suspect) Williams sold (victim) Hope what she believed was cocaine and added in some extra for her.”