Latest news with #MDMB-4en-PINACA
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Cause of first NYC jail death in 2025 revealed as drug overdose
The first person to die in a city jail in 2025 was killed by an overdose of synthetic marijuana, or 'K2,' once again highlighting the ease with which contraband enters the jails, the Daily News has learned. Ramel Powell, 38, died Feb. 19 at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center of 'acute MDMB-4en-PINACA intoxication,' the city's Medical Examiner office reported Tuesday, using the technical language for synthetic weed. The office classified his death as accidental. Powell's was the first of six in-custody deaths so far in 2025 either in a jail, a court holding pen or a hospital unit after the person fell into medical distress in the jails. 'The Department of Investigation has issued multiple reports outlining what our members know — the primary source of drugs on Rikers is not mail or visitors, but the one source DOC refuses to address — their own staff,' said Sarita Daftary, co-director of the Freedom Agenda, an advocacy group. The ME's office also disclosed that Soso Ramashvili, 32, who died March 21 in Kings County Criminal Court, suffered a severe inflammation in the abdomen from a perforated ulcer — officially, 'acute peritonitis due to perforated duodenal ulcer due to peptic ulcer disease.' Ramashvili had been arrested on a shoplifting charge. He was also accused of possession of a small amount of cocaine. He was held for three days prior to arraignment, apparently shuttling between police facilities and the hospital. Advocates called for an investigation back in March. 'Soso Ramashvili was detained and processed on a charge that should have resulted in an appearance ticket. Instead, he was effectively condemned to a death sentence — repeatedly denied the medical care he urgently needed,' said Meghna Philip, director of the Special Litigation Unit in the criminal defense practice at the Legal Aid Society. 'The NYPD clearly violated the law by processing and holding him in custody far beyond what was legally permitted. The callous disregard law enforcement continues to show for the lives and rights of New Yorkers is deeply disturbing.' The NYPD did not immediately reply to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon. Powell was arrested for a May 8, 2023 slashing on the Lower East Side and sent to Rikers that July. After his death, The News reported a reason for his extended detention was that he had changed lawyers four times. He has also spent time in an upstate psychiatric facility after a judge ruled he was not mentally fit to stand trial. The Correction Department declined to comment on Powell's cause of death, citing an ongoing investigation. But the agency has recently renewed a push to tighten security around mail citing a smuggling tactic where pages of letters or books are soaked with narcotics. In 2023, a previous effort which would have led to the electronic scanning of all detainee mail was blocked by the Board of Correction, when a majority of members declined to put the measure up for a vote. The new proposal would allow the Correction Department to open and search non-legal mail outside of the view of detainees. Latima Johnson, a DOC spokeswoman, said the agency is continuing to urge the Board of Correction for approval of the new mail measure. 'Synthetic narcotics present a challenge to correctional institutions across the country,' she said. 'These substances do not have stable chemical compositions nor any scent so K9 [drug sniffing dogs] cannot detect them. These substances are also extremely dangerous to the people who live and work in our jails.' The causes of death in the other four cases remain pending. Those include Terence Moore, who suffered a fatal seizure Feb. 24 in Manhattan Criminal Court, Sonia Reyes, who died March 20 at the West Facility on Rikers Island, and Ibrahim Diallo who died March 26 at Manhattan Criminal Court. The ME's office also has yet to issue a cause of death in the case of Ariel Quidone, 20, who died March 15 at Elmhurst Hospital after just eight days in jail on Rikers, where he fell into medical distress. His family has said he suffered a burst appendix and has alleged it was not properly treated.
Pembrokeshire Herald
06-05-2025
- Pembrokeshire Herald
Tragedy at Parc: How prison failings led to the death of a 25-year-old inmate
'Alarming' drug access, breached protocols, and a system in crisis THE DEATH of a young prisoner at HMP Parc has laid bare a catalogue of failings inside Wales' largest private jail, with damning reports from the prisons watchdog and inspectors exposing shocking levels of drug availability, neglected mental health needs, and breached safety procedures. Lewis Rhys Thomas Petryszyn, 25, from Pontardawe, was found dead in his cell on the afternoon of April 15, 2022. His death, confirmed by a coroner last month to be the result of inhaling a 'bad batch' of the synthetic drug spice, followed what the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has called a series of missed opportunities and breaches of protocol by staff at the troubled Bridgend facility, which is operated by security giant G4S. An inquest at Pontypridd Coroner's Court concluded that Mr Petryszyn died from drug inhalation after ingesting spice, an illegal psychoactive substance known to cause hallucinations, erratic behaviour, and in some cases, death. A dangerous pattern Mr Petryszyn was jailed in 2021 for trafficking Class A drugs and intentionally wounding a man outside Swansea's Fiction nightclub. He was moved to HMP Parc shortly after sentencing. Inside the jail, staff soon suspected he was involved in distributing psychoactive substances (PS). In April 2022, officers found a 'debt list' in his cell and intelligence suggesting he was bullying and assaulting vulnerable prisoners over drug-related debts. However, despite this, prison staff failed to properly apply the Challenge Support Intervention Plan (CSIP) – a national protocol designed to manage violent or high-risk prisoners. On April 13, just two days before his death, Mr Petryszyn was moved to a different unit due to concerns he posed a threat to others, yet again, no formal CSIP plan was created. Breach of protocol – a lost chance to save him? At 1:40pm on April 15, a prison officer delivered disciplinary hearing paperwork to Mr Petryszyn's cell. Instead of following local policy and handing it to him in person, the officer simply slid the document under the door. He looked through the observation panel and assumed both Mr Petryszyn and his cellmate were asleep. Forty-five minutes later, a different officer arrived to deliver a prison shop order and found Mr Petryszyn slumped on the floor, unresponsive, while his cellmate sat on the bed 'staring into space'. A post-mortem later confirmed the presence of two psychoactive substances—ADB-BUTINACA and MDMB-4en-PINACA—as well as olanzapine, a powerful antipsychotic that he had not been prescribed, and mirtazapine, one of two antidepressants he had been given inappropriately. The ombudsman said the officer's failure to check on him directly may have robbed staff of a chance to save his life, writing: 'This meant that staff missed a possible opportunity to provide emergency medical care to Mr Petryszyn sooner.' Drug strategy outdated, inspections damning The report also found that Parc's drug strategy was out of date, despite widespread evidence that prisoners were able to easily obtain both illicit substances and diverted prescription medication. One day before his death, staff smelled spice coming from Mr Petryszyn's new cell—eight days after the last known batch was confiscated. This, the ombudsman said, was clear evidence that the flow of drugs in the prison was virtually unchecked. A separate unannounced inspection of HMP Parc earlier this year found drugs were discovered on over 900 occasions in 2024 alone, and revealed that cell windows could be opened from the inside, enabling prisoners to receive drugs via drones. Seventeen inmates died at HMP Parc in 2024. According to G4S, at least five deaths were drug-related. Inspectors warned of 'a spate of tragic deaths', linking the failures directly to G4S being awarded a fresh 10-year contract to run the prison, despite a significant decline in safety standards since 2022. Mental health failings Mr Petryszyn, who disclosed childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms to a prison GP in October 2021, was prescribed fluoxetine, later paired with mirtazapine. The ombudsman criticised this combination, noting that only a specialist doctor should have prescribed two antidepressants of that class concurrently. Worse still, when Mr Petryszyn was seen by mental health staff again in February 2022, they failed to consider the PTSD diagnosis noted earlier. This failure, alongside inappropriate prescribing by a non-clinical pharmacist, highlighted serious gaps in Parc's mental health provision. Official response In a formal action plan, HMP Parc has now accepted all recommendations made by the ombudsman. G4S claims it has updated its drug reduction strategy, issued new training for staff on medication supervision and CSIP procedures, and reinforced policies on in-person delivery of official documents. But critics say these reforms come too late. Twelve inmates died at Parc in the two years leading up to Mr Petryszyn's death—with further deaths since—and the pattern of staff misconduct, drug access, and medical negligence appears to continue. A system under pressure Acting Prisons and Probation Ombudsman Kimberley Bingham said: 'While we are satisfied that prison staff submitted intelligence reports and acted on them by conducting searches and drug tests, we remain seriously concerned about the availability of psychoactive substances at Parc.' She added that both prescribed and illicit drugs must be tackled, and that failure to deliver paperwork correctly may have cost Mr Petryszyn his life. With the coroner's conclusion now delivered and yet another critical inspection on the record, the question remains: how many more lives will be lost before systemic change is delivered at HMP Parc?
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Yahoo
What victim's family has to say after officers in Macon jail death not charged
Lawyers for the family of Stephen Fossett, a man who died in the Bibb County Jail, say key pieces of information weren't included in prosecutors' review of the fatal incident before the district attorney decided not to pursue charges against the officers involved. Even though Fossett's death in May 2024 was caused by taser use and other factors after a struggle with jail officers, civil rights attorneys Mawuli Davis and Nathan Fitzpatrick argued that systemic issues surrounding the jail also contributed to his death. Mawuli Davis and Fitzpatrick, as well as Fossett's family, spoke to the media at the Tubman African American Museum in downtown Macon Thursday morning, discussing the evidence that Bibb County District Attorney Anita Howard reviewed, the alleged civil liabilities they think the Bibb County Sheriff's Office may face, and the potential for a lawsuit once the attorneys receive crucial evidence from the sheriff's office. The announcement from the district attorney's office that charges would not be pursued 'made our family more determined to get to the truth,' said Paula Platt, Fossett's mother. 'It has not wavered our faith, not even a little bit,' Platt said. 'We just want to get justice for Stephen, as anybody else who wants to get justice for their loved one.' Mawuli Davis said Howard's review of the evidence from the sheriff's office did not lay out important facts about the investigation, including how Sheriff David Davis didn't alert the district attorney to Fossett's in-custody death. 'The district attorney's office requested the (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) come in (and investigate),' Mawuli Davis said. 'And the GBI made clear, 'it's too late ... we don't want part of your mess. It's too late to call us in because the whole situation has been tainted by your involvement.' That's the truth of the matter.' The family's lawyers said that while the district attorney was conducting a review of the case, she was given evidence by the sheriff's office, including body camera footage, interviews with witnesses and the deputies who used their taser. But she never got the chance to interview them herself nor anyone in the district attorney's office. 'They talked about the taser ... did not exceed the 15 seconds that the training allots,' Mawuli Davis said. 'That doesn't mean that it didn't contribute to his death. It just meant their protocol says that you can tase someone up to 15 seconds continually and that you should not exceed that amount of tasing.' They called the investigation 'very faulty.' 'If you start out with a foundation that is not solid, you'll ultimately end up with something that is built on sand,' Mawuli Davis said. 'She was just given trash,' Mawuli Davis said, regarding the evidence Howard received for the review. Howard's report on the case indicated Fossett used synthetic marijuana, also known as K2 or MDMB-4en-PINACA, that contributed to his death. But the attorneys criticized how common the use of the drug is in the jail and questioned how Fossett got access to it in a controlled environment. 'It is almost as if the synthetic marijuana is like having a cigarette inside of the jail,' Mawuli Davis said. 'How would he get access to this ... and why is that not a concern? What have you heard from the sheriff about their commitment to ensuring the safety of their inmates? 'Isn't a part of ensuring the safety of an inmate who has a mental condition ... that they don't have access to anything that could hurt or harm them?' Mawuli Davis said. The attorneys said they and Fossett's family have watched video from the incident, and it wasn't accurate to say that officers were providing medical help after the struggle between Fossett and deputies. '(Staff) was milling around, talking amongst themselves, and it was after a period of time had passed that they realized ... he's not breathing. And so that was when they went into action,' Mawuli Davis said. The family and their attorneys said they don't think Fossett should have been in the jail, as his trespassing charges and his demeanor should have given officers indicators he was schizophrenic, and thus should have been treated as a person with a mental illness having a mental health crisis. 'Is there any indication that he was, in fact, at least considered to be outsourced and sent to a mental health facility?' Mawuli Davis said. 'No. That's the issue ... he should have never been there.' Bibb County Sheriff David Davis told The Telegraph his office wanted to send condolences to Fossett's family. 'My sincere condolences and those of the members of the Bibb County Sheriff's Office goes out to Mr. Fossett's Family,' Davis said. 'In regards to the findings of the District Attorney, Mr. Fossett's death was investigated in great detail by the Bibb County Sheriff's Office with guidance and review by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. There was also detailed technical information provided by the taser manufacturer.' In response to issues raised by Fossett's family, District Attorney Anita Howard released a statement Thursday saying 'I fully understand and empathize' with concerns raised by the family about the sheriff's office conducting its own investigation. She hopes all use of force deaths in Bibb County will be investigated by GBI in the future. 'Having an independent state agency conduct these sensitive investigations represents best practices in law enforcement and is already standard procedure in many Georgia jurisdictions,' Howard said in a statement. 'The involvement of an independent investigative body like the GBI helps ensure these critical cases are handled with transparency, thoroughness, and impartiality, while also expediting the investigative process.' Howard said the sheriff's office can request that the GBI get involved, but confirmed that in this case, Howard's office had to ask GBI to step in after finding out about Fossett's death through media reports. The family's attorneys say the'll investigate civil liability that the Bibb County Sheriff's Office could be held responsible for. They're requesting public records. 'This isn't about money,' Fitzpatrick said. 'This is about change and making sure that there's no other family in Macon-Bibb County that has to deal with this.'
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Yahoo
Heartless Felons gang members indicted in scheme to smuggle drugs by drone into prison
Mar. 31—Four gang members, including a man incarcerated in the Warren Correctional Institution, were indicted Friday in a scheme to smuggle drugs by drone into the prison. Tiaeishia Sade Bouyer, 29, Monisa Sade McQueen, 31, and Tyrone Tywan Lavel Robinson, 28, all of Cleveland, are charged along with inmate Jamall Lewis, 31, with eight felony charges: engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity; participating in a criminal gang; two counts each of aggravated trafficking in drugs and aggravated possession of drugs; and single counts of illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse onto grounds of a specified governmental facility and possessing criminal tools. Bouyer, McQueen and Robinson are scheduled to be arraigned April 18 in Warren County Common Pleas Court. Lewis, who is serving up to life in prison for an aggravated murder conviction in 2016 out of Cuyahoga County, does not yet have an arraignment hearing scheduled. He will be eligible for parole in 2060, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction website. The four are members of the Heartless Felons gang, said Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell. An Ohio State Highway Patrol investigation determined that between February and October 2022, the defendants reportedly acted to smuggle drugs and other contraband into WCI, Fornshell said. Troopers opened an investigation when WCI prison officials spotted a drone, he said. This case involves methamphetamine and MDMB-4en-PINACA (a synthetic cannabinoid). There appears to have been an effort to get a firearm into the prison as well," Fornshell said. The Heartless Felons gang also tried to smuggle drugs into the Trumbull Correctional Institution in northeast Ohio, the prosecutor said.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Woman pleads guilty to selling and mailing drug-soaked papers
A New York woman has pleaded guilty after being charged with manufacturing synthetic cannabinoids and sending drug-soaked documents to inmates in multiple correctional facilities, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Maya McIntosh, 33, manufactured, distributed and possessed with intent to distribute a synthetic cannabinoid called MDMB-4en-PINACA, officials from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York said in a news release. McIntosh ordered the chemicals to make the synthetic drug and had them shipped to her home, according to court documents, which said she then made a liquid form of MDMB-4en-PINACA. That liquid was then sprayed and soaked into copy paper and business envelopes, according to prosecutors and court documents. McIntosh allegedly sold the sheets and envelopes on social media, and was paid by customers to send them to inmates at various New York State correctional facilities. Prosecutors say McIntosh labeled the envelopes as if they had come from attorneys. The recipients of the drug-soaked papers and envelopes would not have been able to feel the drug's effects through the paper, said Dr. Andrew Stolbach, a toxicologist and emergency medicine physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. MDMB-4en-PINACA does not pass through skin, he said, and synthetic cannabinoids in general tend to be made of large molecules, making them unable to easily pass through the skin or spontaneously enter the air. "This is why people who use these drugs smoke them, the literal heat from a flame is used to bring the drug into an absorbable state," Stolbach told CBS News. "If the drugs worked by skin absorption or spontaneous volatilization, people would just touch the drug or open the package to experience them." McIntosh pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including conspiracies to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and unlawful possession and use of a means of identification, the Department of Justice said. McIntosh faces a maximum term of up to 20 years' imprisonment on each count, and a maximum fine of $1 million on the drug counts, as well as a fine of $250,000 on the other counts. She faces a supervised release of at least three years and up to life, the Justice Department said. Multiple similar cases of drug-soaked papers being delivered to prisons have been reported. In August 2024, a Chicago corrections officer was accused of trying to bring such materials into the Cook County Jail. In 2022, a South African woman was charged with orchestrating a scheme to smuggle dozens of packages containing drug-soaked papers into Ohio prisons and sentenced to one year in prison. Sneak peek: The Puzzling Death of Susann Sills Inside Trump's call with Vladimir Putin 100 years since deadliest tornado in U.S. history
