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Kane man to stand trial for overdose
homicide
July 7, 2007
By David Gialanella Staff Writer
An Elburn man who authorities say left his
friend for dead after a narcotics overdose last
year is expected to stand trial Monday in Kane
County Court.
Clinton S. Eash, 31, of the 41W800 block of
Campton Hills Drive, and codefendant Joseph M.
Estok, 29, of the 1600 block of Forrest
Boulevard, St. Charles, each are charged with
one count of drug-induced homicide and one count
of involuntary manslaughter.
The two men are the first in Kane County to
be charged with drug-induced homicide. Estok
will be tried separately at a later date.
Prosecutors allege Eash and Estok facilitated
the heroin and cocaine binge that left
27-year-old Matthew Thies of St. Charles dead,
and neglected to seek medical attention for
Thies when he showed signs of an overdose.
According to authorities, Thies, Eash and
Estok drove to Chicago to buy drugs on June 15,
2006, after attending the funeral for Estok's
mother.
The three began taking the heroin and cocaine
on the drive back, and continued using at a home
in St. Charles, authorities said. When Thies
became ill and unresponsive, Eash and Estok made
several futile attempts to revive him, then took
him to a nearby park and left him on a bench,
thinking that he would eventually wake up and
find his own way home, the state's attorney's
office said.
The next day, three young girls discovered
him deceased on the bench -- which was near a
school playground -- sitting mostly upright and
still in the clothes he wore to Estok's mother's
funeral the day before.
Eash faces 15 to 30 years in prison if
convicted of the charge.
The state law on drug-induced homicide is
broad enough to implicate any drug dealer in an
overdose death. The law has been criticized
because it not only covers dealers and
traffickers, but any user who may provide drugs
to another user, even if they are taking the
drugs together.
Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti
said previously that he is concerned that the
statute provides a disincentive for drug users
to seek medical aid for Overdose victims. Some
have suggested that the law should be amended
for those who elect to seek help for such a
victim.
Suspect May Face Murder Charges in Overdose
Deaths
By Ed Pruneau, Missourian Managing Editor
11/06/2007
A man arrested last week in a drug trafficking
case may face murder charges in connection with
the deaths of a 16-year-old Pacific girl and two
men, authorities said.
The man is suspected of supplying possible
tainted heroin to all three people who died from
apparent drug overdoses over the last year.
Detective Sgt. Jason Grellner, commander of the
Franklin County Narcotics Enforcement Unit
(FCNEU), said investigators plan to seek felony
murder charges against Michael S. Ellison, 22,
in connection with the deaths.
Under Missouri law, if a person commits a crime
and someone dies as a result, the suspect may be
charged with murder. Pacific Police Chief Jim
Brune said he's very pleased with the
investigation and arrest of Ellison.
"This arrest will hopefully stem the flow of
tainted heroin into Franklin County," Brune
said.
FCNEU officers along with members of the
Jefferson County Drug Task Force arrested
Ellison Friday, Nov. 2, at his apartment in High
Ridge. The arrest stemmed from the September
2006 search of a Pacific home where Ellison had
been staying. Ellison is being held in the
county jail on a $150,000 cash-only bond.
Grellner said Ellison, formerly of Pacific, has
been under investigation for suspected heroin
trafficking for the last 18 months.
During an investigation of the girl's apparent
overdose death at a Pacific home Oct. 20, FCNEU
officers working with Pacific police interviewed
"numerous witnesses and tracked multiple leads"
in an effort to find the source of the heroin,
Grellner said.
The trail led to Ellison, according to Grellner,
who is suspected of supplying heroin used by the
girl.
Ellison also has been linked to the death of
Carl Zerna III, 19, Villa Ridge, in September
2006, and the May 2007 death of Billy Rippee Jr.
23, Labadie, according to Grellner.
"Investigators continue to investigate all three
deaths and hope to present cases for felony
murder in the future," Grellner said.
Brune said the suspect had been under
investigation for a long time. "It all started
breaking loose last Thursday and Friday," the
chief remarked.
"I'm sorry there had to be additional victims
but sometimes it takes awhile to connect all the
dots," Brune said.
Beginning in 2006, the entire St. Louis area,
including eastern Franklin County, experienced a
spike in heroin overdoses and in many of those
cases, investigators suspected that the drug
Fentanyl, synthetic morphine, was involved,
either mixed in with heroin or other drugs. It
is said to be about 80 times more potent than
morphine.
In August 2006, Franklin County authorities
reported more than 15 drug overdose cases
including one that resulted in the death of a
41-year-old Labadie area man.
Brune said while authorities suspect a heroin
overdose, they still don't know the exact cause
of the girl's death because results of
toxicology tests won't be completed for six to
eight weeks. He declined to release the juvenile
girl's name.
Sheriff Gary Toelke said the cases point up the
danger of illegal drug use, and how users don't
know what they are buying off the street. "This
stuff is extremely dangerous," he said.
"It's a shame people feel they have to use this
stuff," Toelke remarked. "The people who sell it
need to be held responsible."
Ohio
Two Charged With Reckless
Homicide In Overdose
Deathhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21997798/
NBC 4
updated
10:15 p.m. PT,
Tues., Nov. 27, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio-- When
James Baisden died September 2, police considered
his death suspicious. Yesterday, police arrested his
two friends and now consider them his killers,
NBC 4’sTacoma Newsome
reported.
Chad Foster, 32, and Anthony Moore, 28,
appeared in court today for the first time. Both men
are being charged with reckless homicide and
corrupting another with drugs after a two-month
investigation by Westerville Police.
Both Foster and Moore evoked their right not
to speak. The judge ordered the men to remain jailed
on $100,000 bond and not reach out to their former
friend’s family.
Foster and Moore are due back in court
December 1, according to Newsome.
Stay tuned to NBC 4
and refresh nbc4i.com for
more information.
Grafton man might have been
present for 3 heroin-related deaths
Village sought ‘Len Bias' charge in ‘03
for man with Raettig last week
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OZAUKEE COUNTY - Ben Stibbe was
there, that much at least is clear. He was there the
night Angela Raettig died of a suspected
heroin-related overdose. He was there a 21-year-old
Grafton man died of a likely heroin-related
overdose.
What’s also clear is that both of
those deaths might have been avoided if the District
Attorney’s office had charged Stibbe for being there
- and more - the night 43-year-old Lynn Smaxwill
died almost exactly three years ago.
On Dec. 12, 2002, Stibbe, now 23,
went over to Smaxwill’s house following an argument
with his parents. What happened between the time he
and a friend who was staying with Smaxwill at the
time returned to the home with a mixture of cocaine
and heroin is unclear, but that night the three did
the drugs in a bedroom in the home.
The next morning Smaxwill’s
12-year-old son found her dead in her room.
The investigation that followed
led the Grafton Police Department to forward its
report to the District Attorney’s office inquiring
about whether a first-degree reckless homicide
charge for Stibbe was appropriate. The state law,
also known as the Len Bias law, allows for the
prosecution for homicide of the person who supplies
an individual with the drugs they die from.
"There’s a couple different
versions of where she got it from," Chief Charles
Wenten said, "a lot of finger pointing going on. ...
We were asking for guidance in a possible
first-degree reckless homicide. There was nothing
written back from the DA, but it was not charged at
that time."
And Stibbe, who by some accounts
was the dealer who provided the Smaxwill with the
lethal combination of cocaine and heroin, walked
away clean - or at least free.
Spent year in jail
Fast forward three years. Stibbe
had spent about a year or so in jail for minor
misdemeanor charges involving theft, drug
paraphernalia and violating his probation. Court
records indicate he was released in April 2005.
Overall, though, he managed to
keep a very low profile.
"I had never heard his name before
this whole thing happened, so there was no
association I knew of," according to the mother of
the 21-year-old who died Oct. 16, 2005, who asked
not to have her identity revealed. "Now his name is
just coming up way too often."
While she knew many of Angela’s
friends, Bonnie Raettig also had never heard of
Stibbe.
"I still had not heard his name,"
Raettig said, "and (Lynn Smaxwill’s sister Ann
Smaxwill) mentioned his name from three years ago
and then that same day one of Angela’s friends who
went to Milwaukee that evening (Angela died), she
had mentioned his name. I was astounded, thinking
three years ago he was dealing and he’s still out."
Both mothers said they’ve been
told by the friends of their children that Stibbe
was at least present the night they died.
"I understand she was with him
that night," Raettig said. "They picked him up in
Grafton and he was the one who probably directed
them where to go in Milwaukee. I’m not sure how
instrumental he was in consummating the deal. I
don’t know if Angela and Ryan (Hinkle) knew the drug
dealer in Milwaukee well enough to go down there
themselves without somebody else letting them know
these kids were OK."
The Grafton man’s mother was also
told by her son’s friends that Stibbe was along the
night her son died. "The only thing I know about Ben
Stibbe is what I’ve heard through the grapevine,"
she said. "I don’t know for a fact, but I heard that
he was there that night."
Informant led to arrest
Whether the police were biding
their time and building their case, or whether it
took three related deaths in the last 1 1/2 months
for them to pick up Stibbe’s trail is unclear, but
the chain of events from the last two weeks indicate
they have definitely caught the scent.
Angela Raettig came home last
Tuesday night after shooting up at Ryan Hinkle’s
home. That same night the Ozaukee County Drug Unit
executed a search warrant at the home of Hinkle, who
on Nov. 8 was caught doing heroin with another girl
in a public bathroom at the Cedarburg Community
Center gym. They found two drug pipes in that
search.
Raettig was found dead in her room
Wednesday morning.
Thursday, only a day after Raettig
died, a confidential informant working with the drug
unit called Stibbe asking to buy $120 worth of
heroin. Stibbe, the informant, another unidentified
person and a Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy
drove to a Walgreens on Hopkins Avenue in Milwaukee
where Stibbe allegedly conducted a transaction with
his drug dealer and brought back to the car six foil
packets of heroin, giving five to the other
occupants and almost immediately snorting from the
remaining packet.
Almost as if bragging, Stibbe told
the officers after he was arrested that "no amount
of heroin that he could snort would actually get him
high because his tolerance is so high," the criminal
complaint states.
More charges coming?
The delivery of heroin charges are
that Stibbe was slapped with on Monday - he’s facing
up to 25 years in prison and $50,000 in fines -
might end up being the least of his problems.
In an uncharacteristic
foreshadowing, District Attorney Sandy Williams
hinted at Stibbe’s Dec. 5 initial appearance that
more serious charges may be filed in the near
future.
"We forwarded this information to
the DA’s office back in ‘03, but it didn’t make it,"
Wenten said. "But in light of some other information
that’s come forward at this time we’re working with
Cedarburg and possible similarities to any
investigations they may have. We’re trying to wrap
this up into a total package."
Currently being held on $30,000
bail, Stibbe will also be there, in jail, when that
happens.
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What is the ‘Len Bias Law?'
The law attaches a first-degree reckless
homicide charge to persons who supply others
with controlled substances leading to death.
Here is the actual statute:
940.02(2)
(2) Whoever causes the death of another
human being under any of the following
circumstances is guilty of a Class C felony:
940.02(2)(a)
(a) By manufacture, distribution or
delivery, in violation of s. 961.41, of a
controlled substance included in schedule I
or II under ch. 961, of a controlled
substance analog of a controlled substance
included in schedule I or II under ch. 961
or of ketamine or flunitrazepam, if another
human being uses the controlled substance or
controlled substance analog and dies as a
result of that use.
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This story appeared in the Ozaukee County News Graphic on
December 8, 2005.
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DEALER SENTENCED IN DRUG OVERDOSE
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The 84-Month Jail Term Is Due to a Law That Allows Drug
Dealers to Be Punished When Their Clients Die.
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Shane Jesmer was an expert snowboarder who dreamed of
someday competing in the Olympics.
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When he broke a collarbone in 2004, he made the mistake of
seeking out a drug dealer to help him cope with the pain.
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The dealer, Raoul Mahon Keith, sold him a lethal amount of
methadone and on Wednesday was sentenced to 84 months in
prison under a seldom- used state charge, "controlled
substance homicide."
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Keith sold the drug to Jesmer, 19, who had a fatal overdose.
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Keith, 38, of Everett, told the sentencing judge he doesn't
want to be labeled as a drug dealer. Snohomish County
Superior Court Judge Ronald Castleberry responded, "I don't
know what a drug dealer is if he is not."
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Jesmer, of Monroe, drove with some friends to Everett and
bought the methadone from Keith on Oct. 31, 2004, according
to court papers filed by deputy prosecutor Janice Albert.
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According to charging papers, Jesmer consumed most of a
small bottle of methadone and went to sleep. He wasn't
breathing when companions woke up, and aid personnel
couldn't revive him.
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The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's office ruled that
Jesmer died of an overdose of methadone and diazepam, a drug
used to relieve anxiety, muscle spasms and seizures,
documents said.
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| Pubdate: |
Thu, 23 Nov 2006 |
| Source: |
Herald, The (Everett, WA) |
| Copyright: |
2006 The Daily Herald Co. |
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(1) DEALER SENTENCED IN DRUG
OVERDOSE (Top)
The 84-Month Jail Term Is Due to a Law That Allows
Drug Dealers to Be Punished When Their Clients Die.
Shane Jesmer was an expert snowboarder who dreamed
of someday competing in the Olympics.
When he broke a collarbone in 2004, he made the
mistake of seeking out a drug dealer to help him
cope with the pain.
The dealer, Raoul Mahon Keith, sold him a lethal
amount of methadone and on Wednesday was sentenced
to 84 months in prison under a seldom- used state
charge, "controlled substance homicide."
Keith sold the drug to Jesmer, 19, who had a fatal
overdose.
Keith, 38, of Everett, told the sentencing judge he
doesn't want to be labeled as a drug dealer.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ronald
Castleberry responded, "I don't know what a drug
dealer is if he is not."
Jesmer, of Monroe, drove with some friends to
Everett and bought the methadone from Keith on Oct.
31, 2004, according to court papers filed by deputy
prosecutor Janice Albert.
[snip]
According to charging papers, Jesmer consumed most
of a small bottle of methadone and went to sleep. He
wasn't breathing when companions woke up, and aid
personnel couldn't revive him.
[snip]
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's office ruled
that Jesmer died of an overdose of methadone and
diazepam, a drug used to relieve anxiety, muscle
spasms and seizures, documents said.
Pubdate: Thu, 23 Nov 2006
Source: Herald, The (Everett, WA)
Copyright: 2006 The Daily Herald Co.
Filed under: PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. ,
Heroin Death
Dec 4, 2007 10:08 AM (3 days ago) AP
PORT WASHINGTON, Wis.-
A 21-year-old man has been charged with first-degree reckless
homicide in the heroin overdose death of a Cedarburg teenager.
A criminal complaint filed Monday in Ozaukee County Circuit
Court contended Ryan J. Hinkle of Cedarburg was one of three
people with Angela Raettig, 17, when they purchased heroin in
Milwaukee on Nov. 29, 2005, and then injected it at Hinkle's
apartment. Raettig was found dead at her home the next day.
Hinkle is already serving a one-year jail sentence for
violating bail on a separate heroin possession charge. Three
more felony bail-jumping charges were recently filed against him
accusing him of violating terms of his work-release privileges.
If convicted of the new charge, Hinkle could be imprisoned 40
years.
Two others who were accused of being involved in Raettig's
death have been convicted and are in prison.
Caitlin Schuette, 18, of Cedarburg was sentenced to two years
in January. She was accused of calling Benjamin Stibbe, 25, of
Grafton, to purchase the heroin that she, Hinkle and Raettig
used.
Stibbe was sentenced in September 2006 to 18 years for his
role in Raettig's death.
Stibbe, and his mother, Teri Stibbe, 50, and Hinkle have also
been charged in U.S. District Court with being part of a ring
that distributed heroin from Chicago in the Milwaukee area.
Benjamin Stibbe pleaded guilty in September to the federal
charge and is scheduled to be sentenced in February.
Stibbe was sentenced in November to 25 years in prison, to
run concurrent to other sentences, for providing the heroin that
caused the overdose deaths of Lynn Smaxwill, 43, in December
2002; and Matt Kobiske, 21, and James Helm, 47, in October 2005.
Smaxwill, Kobiske and Helm were all Grafton residents.
---
Information from:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
http://www.jsonline.com
Posted September 21, 2007
Drug overdose results in homicide charge
By Jeff Starck
Wausau Daily Herald
jstarck@wdhprint.com
A man who
allegedly provided methadone to a 19-year-old who later died of an
apparent overdose of the drug now faces a new charge of first-degree
reckless homicide.
Marathon County
Circuit Court Judge Greg Huber ruled at a preliminary hearing Thursday
Larry Pirillo, 34, of Wausau will stand trial for the death of Charles
Tabaka of Mosinee. A forensic pathologist testified Tabaka died of a
methadone overdose.
A friend of Tabaka
testified Thursday that she saw Tabaka purchase methadone from Pirillo.
She said she later saw him swallow about six pills and crush and snort
two others.
"(The pathologist)
was quite clear in his opinion that methadone killed Mr. Tabaka,"
Marathon County Assistant District Attorney Ken Heimerman said when
asked why he upgraded the charge from a drug delivery offense.
Tabaka was found
dead July 8 in a tent outside a home at 6802 E. Butternut Road in the
town of Wausau. Police were called at about 7:15 a.m. after friends at
the residence found Tabaka foaming and bleeding from the mouth,
according to the report.
Dr. Michael Stier,
a forensic pathologist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said
Tabaka's lungs were three to four times heavier than normal according to
an analysis of the autopsy results. The fluid buildup in his lungs,
which caused the excess weight, is typical of an opiate overdose, Stier
said.
Pirillo is being
held in the Marathon County Jail on a $25,000 cash bond. He will enter a
plea to the upgraded charge at a later date.
If convicted,
Pirillo could serve as many as 40 years in prison.
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