Gwinnett County police charged Tanika Tavares with felony murder after a Lawrenceville overdose death.

The counts are what those stations say Gwinnett County police filed. They are not a finding that Tavares supplied a drug, and they are not a finding that a drug caused the death. The manslaughter count names fentanyl. FOX 5 reported in the same story that police have not specified the chemical composition or the quantity. No station printed the other drug counts, a bond, or a court date.

WSB-TV, FOX 5 Atlanta, Atlanta News First, and 11Alive reported Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, that Gwinnett County police arrested Tanika Tavares after an overdose death in Lawrenceville. FOX 5 reported detectives arrested 48-year-old Tanika Tavares. Atlanta News First reported investigators identified Tanika Tavares, 48. WSB-TV reported a 48-year-old woman has been charged and that Tanika Tavares was arrested. 11Alive reported a 48-year-old woman has been arrested and that Tanika Tavares was taken into custody. Those two stories put the age and the name in different sentences. WSB-TV, by Sabrina Castro at 9:23 p.m. EDT, reported she was arrested after detectives identified her as the suspected source of narcotics connected to the victim's death. FOX 5, at 4:40 p.m. EDT, 11Alive, by Reeves Jackson at 2:55 p.m. EDT, and Atlanta News First, at 3:10 p.m. EDT, reported the same identification. "Suspected source" is the police description those stations used. It is not a finding that she sold anything.

The call they all place on Oct. 13 is the same block. WSB-TV reported officers responded to a home in the 1100 block of Wetlands Court in Lawrenceville regarding an overdose and that the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. FOX 5 reported officers responded to a home in that block and found a victim dead from an overdose. Atlanta News First reported officers responded that day to a home in the 1100 block and that the victim was pronounced dead from an overdose. 11Alive reported the death occurred that day at a residence in the 1100 block and that the victim was pronounced dead. WSB-TV's "at the scene" is WSB-TV's phrase. The others did not print it. WSB-TV, FOX 5, and 11Alive reported the Special Investigations Section investigated. Atlanta News First said investigators, and did not name the unit.

The charge list is where the four stations sit together, with small differences in wording. WSB-TV, Atlanta News First, and 11Alive reported felony murder, aggravated involuntary manslaughter by causing a fentanyl overdose death, sale of a Schedule I or II controlled substance, and additional drug-related offenses. FOX 5 reported the same list and worded the manslaughter count as causing fentanyl overdose death, without the article "a," and it said additional drug offenses rather than additional drug-related offenses. None of the four named those additional offenses. FOX 5 reported she remains in custody. The others reported she was taken into custody and did not add a later custody line. No station in this file printed a bond or a court date.

The person who died is unnamed in all four. FOX 5 reported police have not released the identity or age of the person who died on Oct. 13, and that authorities have not specified the chemical composition or quantity of the drugs. WSB-TV reported the department did not release additional details about the victim or the investigation. The fentanyl in the manslaughter count's title, and FOX 5's report that the composition was not specified, are both in that station's story. This file does not treat the charge title as a laboratory result. The felony murder count and the manslaughter count are the accusations those stations reported. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.