Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: Savanna Timaly Brune, 29, was arrested and booked into the Graham County Detention Facility on charges of possession of a narcotic drug, possession of a narcotic drug for sale, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
By Jon Johnson
THATCHER – Mere blocks from where thousands of students matriculate at Eastern Arizona College, officers were busy surveilling a suspect they believed to be in possession of fentanyl powder.
The suspect, Savanna Timaly Brune, 29, of Thatcher, was arrested Sept. 21 after she left her apartment off Stadium Avenue and committed a traffic offense. Brune was apprehended in possession of both white, fentanyl powder and the more common counterfeit blue Oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl. She was booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility on charges of possession of a narcotic drug, possession of a narcotic drug for sale, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
According to an Arizona Department of Public Safety report, Brune said she was clean for about 3.5 years until she ended up living next to a fentanyl dealer roughly 7 months ago.
She said she began abusing fentanyl pills and the dealer started storing drugs at her apartment – giving her a break on the price and she began purchasing an increasing amount of pills and selling the drug herself.
Brune advised her main dealer then began bringing in fentanyl powder in the last few weeks. While one never knows the dosage of fentanyl in any of the illicit substances, the counterfeit blue pills are encapsulated and less likely to have exposure issues. The white fentanyl powder, however, is more likely to have possible exposure issues and may have a higher concentration of fentanyl than the pills.
During her traffic stop on Sept. 21, Brune’s cell phone showed seven different message conversations about buying, selling, and distributing fentanyl pills and powder. She was found with a chunk of white fentanyl and 11 fentanyl pills, along with three pipes.
