Details released after four die at Lake Tahoe party
The deadly quadruple fatal overdose happened on February 11, 2024 inside Adam Joy's house, the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office said. Joy, 35, believed he was buying cocaine for the party, not fentanyl. Joy and three others who consumed the drugs died, prosecutors said.
The three additional victims were identified by South Lake Tahoe city officials as: Clifford Joy, Abraham Lemus, and 33-year-old Keely Pereira. Adam Joy and 37-year-old Clifford Joy were brothers, the Record Courier reported.
On Monday, more than a year after the tragedy, prosecutors revealed details about the investigation and outcome of the case.
Prosecutors said they declined to file murder charges against the alleged drug dealer, Timothy Austin Pannell, because there's strong evidence Pannell 'mistakenly supplied fentanyl' instead of cocaine at the party.
The DA's office wrote, 'Mr. Pannell mistakenly supplied fentanyl — rather than the cocaine he typically sold — to Adam Joy and another individual in South Lake Tahoe. Believing the substance was cocaine, Mr. Joy shared it with friends during a Super Bowl party at his residence. Upon realizing his error, Mr. Pannell made multiple frantic attempts to warn the victims — placing at least 17 unanswered phone calls — and later drove through the victim's neighborhood in an unsuccessful effort to prevent harm.'
Clifford Joy's wife attended the fateful Super Bowl party. She told the Record Courier, 'They're not drug addicts. They're not even regular users. They just made a bad choice in a moment of wanting to have a little fun with kind of a socially acceptable party drug. This was a fentanyl poisoning.'
Prosecutors said they were unable to charge Pannell with second-degree murder because there was no evidence that the victims were killed with malice.
'To secure such a conviction, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knowingly acted in conscious disregard for human life. In this case, the evidenceclearly shows Mr. Pannell believed he was distributing cocaine and made efforts to warn the victims upon discovering his mistake,' the DA's office explained.
Boulder Creek homicide victim named suspected killer before death
An investigation conducted by South Lake Tahoe Police Department detectives and FBI Special Agents involved extensive digital forensic analysis. Mobile phone communications and GPS data confirmed multiple interactions between Pannell and the victims on the night of the incident.
Instead of murder, federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office will charge Pannell with distribution of fentanyl.
Pannell's criminal history includes felony drug convictions, prosecutors said. He received a three-year state prison sentence on April 9, 2024 for previous drug crimes that were not connected to the Super Bowl party tragedy. He was released from prison early, on April 8, 2025, due to credits earned through drug rehabilitation programs.
District Attorney Vern Pierson expressed concern Monday over California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation policies that facilitated early releases. 'Allowing Mr. Pannell back into our community prematurely, after 14 months of a 36 months sentence, underscores a significant flaw in current state policies,' Pierson said.
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