September 20, 2021: With Hawaii, fentanyl pill deaths reported in all 50 states.
Federal authorities in Honolulu charged a Makawao, Hawaii resident with selling the counterfeit fentanyl pills that killed a man in August 2020. With this case, the Partnership for Safe Medicines has found confirmed deaths in all 50 U.S. states.
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Pacific West
Armenta's plea agreement offers interesting details about the case.
Former Navy sailor Ivan Armenta received a four-year federal prison sentence in Seattle, Washington for providing the fake prescription pills made with fentanyl that sickened three sailors and killed a fourth in April 2020. Court documents show that Armenta chose to distribute the pills even though he knew they were killing people.
Police in Ellensburg, Washington reported that a 16-year-old girl died after taking a counterfeit Percocet pill made with fentanyl.
Police in Seattle, Washington arrested a man when he returned to a hotel to pick up a forgotten bag that contained 15,000 fentanyl pills.
A federal grand jury in California indicted a Redondo Beach man on gun and drug trafficking charges, including the alleged sale of fentanyl pills that killed a 43-year-old Marina del Rey resident in January 2020.
An in-depth piece about the prevalence of counterfeit prescription pills in the Sacramento, California region included interviews with family members of Mikael Tirado and Jamila Ward, both of whom died of fentanyl poisoning after taking fake Percocet.
Amanda Faith held a toy drive in honor of her son, Luca Manuel, in Redding, California on September 18. 13-year-old Luca died from fentanyl poisoning a year ago after he took a fake Percocet that a drug dealer sold him on Snapchat.
South
Tymalk Quane Love received a 10-year federal prison sentence for organizing drug trafficking in Arizona, Arkansas and Oklahoma from an Oklahoma prison. In early 2019, Love used contraband cell phones to direct the delivery of counterfeit pills made with fentanyl from Mexico to a home in Tulsa.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents in Jacksonville, Florida warned that high school students were particularly vulnerable to the high volume of counterfeit fentanyl pills circulating in the area.
Midwest
A state trooper in Greenfield, Indiana found more than four pounds of fentanyl powder and nearly 16 pounds of suspected fentanyl pills during a traffic stop.
The West Central Ohio Crime Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s North West Ohio Safe Streets Task Force reported finding two pill presses, thousands of pressed fentanyl pills and other drugs in two houses in Lima, Ohio.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Cincinnati, Ohio reported seizing almost 1700 counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards on their way from China to private residences in Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New York, and Texas since mid-August.
Start with PSM's resources when you warn your family about deadly, fake prescription pills.
Northeast
Javier Martinez of Meriden, Connecticut received a three-year prison sentence for fentanyl trafficking. Investigators found 280 grams of fentanyl powder and more than 300 fentanyl pills in his possession in February 2020.
Connecticut’s Quinnipiack Valley Health District warned residents about counterfeit pills made with fentanyl.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania seized two small shipments of fake COVID-19 vaccination cards on their way to a non-medical destination in Beaver County.