A death investigation is underway after three Kansas City Chiefs fans die at friend’s home. (Law&Crime File)
Criminal charges could be filed in the deaths of three Kansas City Chiefs fans whose bodies were found at their friend’s home if their deaths were caused by a fatal drug overdose and the drugs can be traced back to a supplier, a retired DEA official said on Wednesday.
The bodies of David Harrington, Ricky Johnson, and Clayton McGeeney were discovered in a backyard on Jan. 9. Jordan Willis, who was friends with the men, reportedly answered the door for police and claimed he’d been asleep for 48 hours.
Willis’ attorney, John Picerno, did not return a call from Law&Crime. But, Picerno had previously released a statement claiming Willis didn’t know how his friends died. Some media outlets have reported that Willis, a prominent HIV researcher, has entered rehab.
Last week, family members of one of the three men told NewsNation they had been told toxicology results showed they had cocaine and fentanyl in their systems.
That raised the question: If the official cause of death for the men is determined to be a fentanyl overdose, could the person who supplied the drugs be charged with a crime? The answer may not be that simple, according to Derek Maltz, a retired DEA director of special operations.
“There is a law on the federal Title 21 where it’s called distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death or serious bodily injury. And some of the elements are a little bit difficult to prove,” Maltz told Law&Crime’s Crime Fix podcast.
Maltz said not enough is known about the facts of the case to determine whether criminal charges could be filed. He said the DEA focuses on drug dealers and dismantling their networks. Sometimes, those organizations and their leaders can be charged with federal crimes related to overdose deaths.
“DEA as an agency goes after the networks of cartel leadership that are pushing these poisonous substances all over the country. So it may not be the case where a friend accidentally provides cocaine that is laced with fentanyl,” said Maltz.
Law&Crime has found at least three cases in which a person who supplied drugs that resulted in an overdose was charged with second-degree murder in Missouri. Late last year, that state’s Republican Gov., Mike Parson, vetoed a bill that would have enhanced penalties for those who provide fentanyl to people who later died from an overdose.
Republican State Rep. Bill Allen sponsored the bill and filed it before the new legislative session began in January. Allen hopes Parson will sign the bill into law following the deaths of the three Chiefs fans.
“The fentanyl crisis, it’s a bipartisan problem. It cuts across every socioeconomic factor in our society and it affects all of us in one way or the other. We have to do something and we have to get it done now, Allen said.
Meanwhile, many questions remain about the deaths of Harrington, Johnson and McGeeney. It’s not clear who obtained the drugs or from whom.
Kansas City police are releasing few details but told Crime Fix in a statement, “We are in contact with the prosecutor’s office during the course of the investigation. At the conclusion of the investigation the department will refer all investigative findings to the prosecutor’s office for their determination of any applicable charges if they deem appropriate.”
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