Opinion ID: 6111649
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Overdoses

Text: Around the same time that customers noticed a difference in “Polo’s” heroin, law enforcement officers and paramedics noticed an uptick in opioid overdoses in Warren, Michigan. Many of the witnesses had overdosed—or saw friends overdose—on “Polo’s” drugs. Some overdosed on the lighter, more potent heroin. The charges against Tempo and Sadler involve five overdoses by four different victims. a) Christina Yako Christina Yako overdosed on February 20, 2016. Randy Odish testified that he was with Yako that night and that they called the x3399 number to buy heroin. Phone records confirmed that Odish called the x3399 number that night. The heroin they bought was lighter in color and “look[ed] different.” (Yako Test., R. 723, Page ID #5976; Odish Test., R. 717, Page ID #5438). They went back to Odish’s house and used the drugs. Yako did not mix her drugs with anything, but she had used Xanax earlier that day. Odish used the drugs first, and he warned Yako not to Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 7 do too much because they were very strong. Immediately after Yako injected the drugs, she “passed out;” she “could hardly breathe,” “[h]er lips [turned] bluish-purple,” and “she [began] bleeding from her mouth.” (Odish Test., R. 717, Page ID ##5443–44). Odish then called the police. When the paramedics arrived, they found Yako face-down in a pool of vomit. Her fingertips and lips were blue, and she was taking only four to six breaths per minute—a rate which is not life-sustaining. The paramedics administered Narcan2 intranasally, at which point Yako began breathing more rapidly, her vitals improved, and the paramedics transported her to the hospital. At the hospital, doctors administered a second dose of Narcan—this time intravenously—and Yako became fully alert. The hospital did not give her a urinalysis or blood toxicology test. The government’s expert witness, Dr. Mills, testified that Yako’s medical condition was consistent with an opioid overdose—either on heroin or fentanyl—and that, without medical attention, she would have died. b) David Grzywacz David Grzywacz overdosed on February 26, 2016. He said he bought the drugs from “Polo.” Phone records showed that he called the x5598 “Polo” number eight times that day. The only time Grzywacz noticed a difference in “Polo’s” heroin was on the day he overdosed when the drug appeared powdery and lighter. He used the heroin immediately after purchasing it, and the next thing he remembers is waking up in an ambulance. The paramedics found him in the passenger seat of a car at a gas station. When they arrived, they suspected an opioid overdose. At that time, Grzywacz was taking only four breaths per minute. The paramedics moved him into the ambulance and administered Narcan intravenously. Grzywacz responded well to the Narcan; his breathing returned to normal, and the paramedics transported him to the hospital. The hospital did not give him a urinalysis or blood toxicology test. Dr. Mills testified that Grzywacz’s medical condition was consistent with an opioid overdose and that he likely would have died without medical intervention. 2Narcan is like an anti-venom for opioids. It reverses the effects of opioid poisoning. The government’s expert witness, Dr. Kirk Mills, testified that a positive response to Narcan is “basically confirmation” that the patient had overdosed on an opioid. (Kirk Mills Trial Test., R. 703, Page ID #3865). Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 8 c) Jennifer Pointer Jennifer Pointer overdosed twice, first on March 17, 2016, and again on March 30, 2016. Before either of her own overdoses, Pointer saw her friend, Dawn Boose, overdose on heroin from “Polo.”3 On February 19, 2016, Pointer bought heroin from “Polo” for her boyfriend, Boose, and herself. The heroin she bought looked lighter than usual. After snorting an entire $20 bag of heroin, Boose’s lips began turning blue, and her skin turned a gray color. Police and paramedics arrived, revived Boose, seized the remaining heroin that the group had not used, and arrested Pointer. Lab tests showed that the drugs had a detectable amount of both heroin and fentanyl. On March 17, 2016—St. Patrick’s Day—Pointer called the x3399 number and bought heroin from “Polo.” The evidence did not contain Pointer’s phone records from that day, but she remembered buying drugs at the intersection of Bradford and Bringard. She said she did not buy drugs from any other dealer or use any other drugs that day. The heroin she bought was lighter than usual and “looked the same” as it did on February 19, 2016—when Boose overdosed. (Pointer Test., R. 721, Page ID #5588). She snorted an entire $20 bag of heroin with her boyfriend. She woke up “violently ill” with paramedics surrounding her. (Id. at Page ID #5590). When the paramedics arrived, she was unresponsive and barely breathing with paraphernalia around her. Paramedics administered two doses of Narcan—one intranasally and one intravenously. She became responsive after the second dose, walked to the ambulance herself, and was lucid when the paramedics transported her to the hospital. At the hospital, her doctors gave her a urine drug screen, which was positive for opiates and cocaine. But Dr. Mills testified that Narcan would have worked only if Pointer overdosed on opiates; it would not reverse a cocaine overdose. Dr. Mills concluded that this overdose was consistent with a heroin or fentanyl overdose and that, without medical treatment, it was “[m]ore likely than not [that] she would have died.” (Mills Test., R. 703, Page ID #3873). 3The charges against Defendants do not involve Boose’s overdose, but the facts of this incident provide useful background for Pointer’s later overdoses. Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 9 Pointer overdosed again on March 30, 2016. This time she used Boose’s phone to call the x3399 “Polo” number because she did not have a phone at that time. Boose’s phone records showed three calls to the x3399 number that day. The drugs she bought this time were “light, but not white” like they were when Boose overdosed. (Pointer Test., R. 721, Page ID #5594). She and Boose used the drugs in a parking lot before driving to a nearby pain center. Boose snorted an entire $20 bag, while Pointer snorted one-half of a $20 bag. While Pointer was driving, Boose began to moan, and her lips turned blue. Pointer turned into the pain center parking lot and called 9-1-1. When police arrived, they searched Pointer and found “the other half of [her] bag of heroin” that she bought that day. (Id. at Page ID #5597). Officer Steiber—one of the police officers who responded to the scene—testified that, when he searched Pointer, he found “a small fold paper, which is consistent with the packaging for heroin.” (Jeffrey Steiber Trial Test., R. 717, Page ID ##5504–06). Officer Steiber seized the substance, and test results concluded that it was 0.028 grams of pure fentanyl, which is “nine to ten times the lethal dose of fentanyl to your average adult.” (Mills Test., R. 703, Page ID #3877). Steiber handcuffed Pointer and put her in the back of the squad car. He walked away from the car momentarily, and, when he returned, he found Pointer unconscious with shallow breathing. The paramedics administered two doses of Narcan—one intranasally and one intravenously. After the second dose, “she became responsive almost immediately.” (Steiber Test., R. 717, Page ID ##5510–11). Pointer was taking Suboxone and Adderall at the time of both overdoses. At the hospital, Pointer’s urinalysis drug screen tested positive for amphetamines, cannabinoids, and cocaine— but not opiates. Even so, Dr. Mills said that Pointer’s responsiveness to Narcan indicated that she overdosed on opioids and that, unlike heroin, fentanyl “is not detected by that particular [urinalysis] drug screen.” (Mills Test., R. 703, Page ID ##3874–75, ##3877–78). He said that the cocaine and amphetamines (Adderall) “played no role” in her overdose. (Id. at Page ID #3878). Dr. Mills did not offer an opinion on whether Suboxone contributed to either overdose, but he did say that Suboxone would not appear on a urine drug test. Dr. Mills concluded that Pointer’s second overdose was “consistent with an opioid poisoning” and that, without medical attention, “she could have died.” (Id. at Page ID #3875, #3878). Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 10 d) Anoosh Baghdassarian Anoosh Baghdassarian died on March 30, 2016, at 19 years of age. Baghdassarian’s friend, Marko Tomic, said that he and Baghdassarian bought heroin from “Polo” the day before she died.4 Tomic testified that he drove to Baghdassarian’s house, she came outside and got into his car, they called “Polo,” and then they went to buy heroin near Six Mile Road in Detroit. They then returned to Baghdassarian’s house. Tomic used the drugs in his car outside Baghdassarian’s house, but Baghdassarian did not use her drugs immediately; rather, she took them inside with her. After Tomic used the drugs, he fell asleep in front of Baghdassarian’s house. When he awoke, he began driving home. The police stopped him and arrested him for possession of a controlled substance. They seized the drugs that Tomic bought earlier that day with Baghdassarian, and lab results showed that they were pure fentanyl. At trial, Baghdassarian’s mother, Yvonne Baghdassarian, remembered that day somewhat differently. She recalled Marko Tomic—whom she called “Markos”—coming to their home around 4:30 p.m. (Yvonne Baghdassarian Trial Test., R. 721, Page ID #5648). But she said that, when he pulled up, she and Baghdassarian were in their car about to leave to take Baghdassarian’s brother to work. When Tomic arrived, Baghdassarian asked her mother to “just give [her] a minute.” (Id.) Baghdassarian walked to Tomic’s car, got inside, and “la[id] down under his window talking to him.” (Id.) After a few minutes, she got back in the car with her mother. In an earlier statement to police, Yvonne said that Tomic arrived at their home around 3:30 p.m. and that Baghdassarian left with him for roughly one hour between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. 4The phone records do not show any calls to the x5598 or the x3399 number from either Baghdassarian’s or Tomic’s phone on March 29, 2016. Between March 31, 2015, and March 6, 2016, phone records revealed 903 contacts between Tomic’s number and the x5598 and x3399 numbers. But there were no contacts between Tomic and those numbers after March 6, 2016. Baghdassarian had two different phone numbers during the relevant period. Between September 8, 2015, and February 14, 2016, there were 259 contacts between her two phones and the two “Polo” phones. But neither of Baghdassarian’s phone numbers had any contacts with the “Polo” phones after February 14, 2016. But these “contacts” showed only phone calls and text messages, (Robert Witt Trial Test., R. 791, Page ID #8000), and one of Baghdassarian’s friends testified that Baghdassarian sometimes used an application on her phone to make phone calls. The phone data that investigators collected would not reflect any communication between Baghdassarian and the target phones that was conducted over a phone application—such as WhatsApp, GroupMe, or Facebook Messenger—rather than through a direct telephone call or text message. Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 11 However, at trial, Yvonne denied ever making that statement and said that Baghdassarian never left with Tomic. After Tomic left, Baghdassarian left with her mother. They dropped off her brother and picked up food from a McDonald’s restaurant before returning home around 9:00 p.m. Shortly thereafter, she told her mother that she was not feeling well and went to bed. Her mother stayed awake until 3:00 a.m. and twice saw Baghdassarian come out of her room to get water. Her mother left around 7:00 a.m. the next morning to pick up Baghdassarian’s brother from work. Around 9:00 a.m., Yvonne saw Baghdassarian in the kitchen eating leftover food from McDonald’s. But Baghdassarian subsequently went back to bed. When Yvonne went to check on Baghdassarian around 1:00 p.m., she found Baghdassarian face down on the floor and called 9-1-1. Between 9:00 p.m. on March 29 and 1:00 p.m. on March 30, Yvonne never saw Baghdassarian leave the house, never saw anyone come to the house, never saw Baghdassarian meeting anyone, and never saw anyone giving her anything. Officer Accivetti responded to the 9-1-1 call and found Baghdassarian in a cluttered bedroom and believed, upon seeing her, that she was already dead. He saw “a syringe near the deceased body on the floor, as well as a cigarette pack containing a bottle cap and some residue inside of it.” (Michael Accivetti Trial Test., R. 721, Page ID #5721). He said that these items are “commonly used to mix narcotics in, to inject inside the needle.” (Id. at Page ID #5722). These items were not taken into evidence or tested because Officer Accivetti did not collect them, believing that an evidence technician would do so. When paramedics arrived, they found Baghdassarian pulseless and breathless. They attempted to revive her with Narcan, but they were unsuccessful, and doctors declared her dead when she arrived at the hospital. The medical examiner’s blood toxicology report found 11 nanograms of fentanyl per milliliter of blood and 15 nanograms of alprazolam (Xanax) per milliliter of blood. Three nanograms of fentanyl per milliliter is considered a fatal dose. The medical examiner testified that Baghdassarian’s Xanax levels were “less than therapeutic”—or less than a safe prescription dosage—and concluded that she died of a fentanyl overdose. (Bernardine Pacris Trial Test., R. 723, Page ID #6047). Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 12