Fentanyl-Laced Cocaine At Center Of Spring Break Tragedy; Four From West Point Purchase The Drug

Miami FL

16 March, 2022

4:30 PM

Description

A Miami Times Staff Report, the Miami Times Mar 15, 2022 Axel Giovany Casseus of Lauderhill is under arrest for selling fentanyl-laced cocaine to spring breakers in Wilton Manors, including four cadets from New York's U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The 21-year-old Casseus has been charged with one felony count of trafficking cocaine less than 200 grams. He's being held at the Broward Main Jail on a $50,000 bond for the cocaine charge. He also has a no bond on a burglary charge, which, according to court records, dates to January 2020. According to the arrest report, detectives "were able to ascertain the cellphone number of the alleged dealer who supplied the narcotics to the victims" through cell phone records of an overdose victim and a corroborating undercover detective. Alex Giovany Casseus (Broward Sheriff's Office) The Wilton Manors Police Department said six men and a woman overdosed on fentanyl-laced cocaine last Thursday and were taken to Broward Health Medical Center and Holy Cross Health in Fort Lauderdale. At least two patients reportedly remain in critical condition and on ventilators. The rest were in stable or good condition and at least one is out of the hospital. According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, updates on the spring breakers' health conditions were not available on Sunday after their families requested privacy. Florida officials have only identified the patients as college students from the state of New York. However, a spokeswoman from the U.S. Military Academy said Saturday that five West Point cadets were involved and four of them were transported to the hospital. A West Point official told The Associated Press on Friday that two of the cadets involved were football players, and one of them was hospitalized. Television news crews videotaped Black and white spring breakers being taken away from the suburban Wilton Manors Airbnb on stretchers. "This incident serves as a stark reminder to all, especially those visiting for Spring Break, of the deadly impacts of Fentanyl," the Wilton Manors police said in a statement. According to a WSVN report, neighbors say they had been hearing loud music coming from the house, but that the gathering was otherwise peaceful. "It was guys and girls over there. They seemed to be having a good time barbecuing, and they were in the pool," said Dana Fumosa, who lives next door to the Airbnb. The Wilton Manors AirBnB the West Point cadets were renting. (WSVN News Miami) Neighbors said the house appeared to be full of people when, at some point, some of the students began inhaling the drugs and immediately overdosed. Concerned friends performed mouth to mouth CPR, exposing themselves to the dangerous cocktail. Ambulances began rolling in at around 5 p.m. Fentanyl is a painkiller that can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin, up to 100 times stronger than morphine and commonly resembles prescription drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is often added to other drugs like heroin and cocaine by dealers "because of its extreme potency, which makes drugs cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous," the CDC said. Fentanyl accounts for the vast majority of accidental overdose deaths in Broward County. A 2017 Florida law allows drug dealers to face murder charges if a fentanyl sale led to a fatal overdose. The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.