BILLINGS - A man who authorities allege supplied the fentanyl that resulted in the death of a Billings man was charged Thursday in Yellowstone County District Court.
Erik Matthew Castillo, 25, appeared for arraignment by video from the county jail and pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs resulting in death. Castillo also entered a not guilty plea to an alternative charge of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs - fentanyl.
Castillo's bond was set at $50,000.
According to charging documents, Castillo is accused of providing two halves of a fentanyl pill to 22-year-old Caden Winnick. Winnick was found dead in his bedroom on Dec. 15, 2022, and an autopsy determined he died of "mixed drug toxicity" after both alcohol and fentanyl were reportedly found in his system. The alcohol alone was not enough by itself to cause the death, authorities said.
Investigators eventually obtained phone and Facebook messages between the two men that revealed a conversation about a drug transaction, including fentanyl. Castillo was interviewed by investigators last July and "admitted to providing Winnick with half of a fentanyl pill and smoking it with him," court records state. Castillo denied providing Winnick with the other half of the pill.
Castillo was arrested Tuesday on a warrant.
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