14 Year Old O/D's on "Ecstasy" (Minor updates 3/23/05)

Ecstasy to blame
Dealers in OD case may face tougher charges.
By Matt Elliser, San Francisco Examiner
Friday, June 4, 2004

SAN MATEO -- New evidence surrounding the fatal Ecstasy overdose of Irma Perez could drastically alter the fate of those accused of supplying her with the drug, officials said.

The San Mateo County Coroner's Office received a completed toxicology report on Perez's body Wednesday afternoon, which stated the 14-year-old Belmont resident had indeed died of an Ecstasy overdose. This information could dramatically heighten charges against four defendants involved in the case: Antonio Rivera Jr., a 17-year-old charged with furnishing the Ecstasy, and two teen-aged girls who were with Perez on the night of the overdose.

"We've only been told about [the toxicology report] verbally," San Mateo Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe cautioned. "We need to look at the autopsy."

Rivera Jr. is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing June 11, at which time Wagstaffe could unveil new charges against him. Between now and then, Wagstaffe said, he will meet with the two deputy attorneys working on the case to fully evaluate the circumstances surrounding Perez' death, and discuss the ramifications of the toxicology report with the doctor who completed it.

"The question on everyone's mind is, 'Could this actually rise to the level of the charges of manslaughter or murder?" Wagstaffe said. "Well, now we're at the point where we can start making that determination."

Perez and her two friends each ingested one pill of Ecstasy at a sleepover on April 23, according to a police report. Perez was the only one to suffer such a severe reaction to the drug, and was taken to the hospital the following morning while in a coma.

She never awoke, and passed away after being taken off life support by her family April 28.

"The core point is still that all the girls took one pill, and the other two didn't die," Wagstaffe said. "[Raising the charge] is obviously an extremely serious decision, so before we have somebody held accountable for a heightened charge, we need to make sure all the legal elements are in order."

As rumors of the new evidence swirled around outside, the 17-year-old sat quietly in a courtroom at the Hillcrest Juvenile Detention Center.

The Carlmont student, whose name is not being released because he is a minor, will next appear in court on June 24 to set a hearing. He is facing six charges, including felony counts for furnishing the Ecstasy.

According to Liz Raffaelli, the district attorney working the case, no additional charges stemming from the toxicology report have been filed at this point.

"We're still reviewing the document," she said.

The coroner's office confirmed the completion of the toxicology report, but did not wish to comment further, citing Perez's juvenile status.

Link
 
After they found out that she took three pills and had mixed it with other drugs, I think that they should have dropped charges on her two friends. It is obvious that she was not responsible and her friends can not be blamed for her irresponsibility. This is my opinion if the article is true that states she took three pills.

The last article to be posted says her and her friends each took only one pill and she was the only one that suffered a bad reaction. Anyone know what the true article is?
 
Ecstasy suspect going to trial
By Michelle Durand, Daily Journal Staff
June 9, 2004

The 20-year-old Belmont man accused of furnishing a lethal dose of Ecstasy to an eighth-grader will move straight to trial, eliminating a peek into why prosecutors might seek charges as high as involuntary manslaughter for his involvement.

His hearing might also have offered a glimpse into the case against two 14-year-old girls who prosecutors think might have aided their friend’s death by not seeking help and leaving her for up to nine hours without medical attention.

Antonio Rivera was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Friday but waived his right to it yesterday.

With his head bowed and his arms shackled to his sides, Rivera told the court he was willing to move directly toward a jury trial.

The preliminary hearing gives a judge a chance to decide if enough evidence even exists to proceed with trial. The hearing would also have likely given the first public chronology of circumstances connecting Rivera to the 17-year-old boy who reportedly sold three Ecstasy pills to 14-year-old Irma Perez and two girlfriends.

The events before and after Perez was rushed unconscious to a hospital early April 23 were released piecemeal. All those directly involved except Rivera are minors, keeping their names from the public and making officials reticent to talk.

Rivera is charged with drug possession, child endangerment, giving drugs to a minor and providing drugs to a minor to sell. Toxicology results link the Ecstasy to Perez’s death which might hike the charges as high as involuntary manslaughter. Investigators with the District Attorney’s Office are currently tracking down more leads and legal researchers are looking into precedents, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Those findings could also increase the charges pending against Calin Fintzi, the 17-year-old Carlmont High student who sold the drugs to the girls, and the two girls who also took the drug. Although the girls were initially considered witnesses, evidence is showing they might have waited up to nine hours after Perez lost consciousness to seek help. The time delay might be what contributed significantly to her death, but that remains under investigation, Wagstaffe said.

The three girls took the pills at a Friday night slumber party in Belmont. They each took the same dose but only Perez had a severe reaction. A parent was informed early Saturday morning and Perez was taken to Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital where she was declared brain dead. She was removed from life support on Wednesday.

Rivera was arrested the day after Perez was taken to the hospital. His girlfriend, Angelique Malabey, 20, was also arrested after reportedly trying to hide his drug stash from police. She returns to court next week on conspiracy and abetting charges.

Yesterday, prosecutor Karen Guidotti added felony conspiracy charges to Rivera’s case. Rivera pleaded not guilty to the new charges.

Rivera remains in custody in lieu of $2 million bail. He returns to court June 23 to enter a Superior Court plea.

Meanwhile, the girls and Fintzi are in custody at Hillcrest Juvenile Facility.

Link
 
About the original post, my friend was good friends with that girl who OD'd. Plus I met another one of her friends, on X, the next fucking day, heh. Sad.
 
Teen charged for Ecstasy death

Teen charged for Ecstasy death

By Michelle Durand, Daily Journal Staff
June 25/2004

The 17-year-old boy accused of selling Ecstasy to a trio of Belmont teens — one who died — was officially charged with involuntary manslaughter yesterday. He could still be tried as an adult.

Calin Fintzi, of Belmont, didn’t force Irma Perez, 14, to take the Ecstasy pill that killed her but he did not encourage her friends to seek the medical help that could have saved her life, according to prosecutors.

Instead, Fintzi allegedly told Perez’s friends to give her marijuana and water; he never sought help or suggested the two girls seek it. Prosecutors have not decided yet whether to charge the two girls with involuntary manslaughter, too.

“Our decision was based on two different levels. One is his role providing the drug. The other is that he was at the premises and failed to provide care,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Perez died after she and two friends took one pill each at a slumber party April 23. Perez had a severe reaction, complaining that she didn’t feel right and eventually slipping into unconsciousness. The girls told authorities they called Fintzi because he is the one who sold them the drugs. Fintzi admitted to police that he went to the Belmont home.

Fintzi had his charges upgraded yesterday morning when a juvenile court judge set a Sept. 1 date for his fitness hearing. That hearing will determine if Fintzi will be tried in juvenile or adult court. Although there is little difference in sentencing lengths between the two, a juvenile must be released at age 25. Juvenile records are also expunged.

In either case, Fintzi faces about four years for the involuntary manslaughter charge. If tried as an adult with the added drug charges, he could spend more than 10 years in prison, Wagstaffe said.

The District Attorney’s Office decided against filing manslaughter charges against Antonio Rivera, the 20-year-old Belmont man accused of giving the Ecstasy to Fintzi to sell.

“We cannot establish that he had a duty of care,” Wagstaffe said.

He does, though, face a dozen felony charges, including drug possession, possessing drugs for sale and giving drugs to a minor to sell. He is also charged in an unrelated drug sale case.

Fintzi remains in custody at Hillcrest Juvenile Facility as do the two girls. Rivera is at San Mateo County Jail.

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Personally, it's somewhat tragic what happened, but if it helps to keep some ppl doing E, then all the better, especially the young ones.

Means there'll be more left for the rest of us =p
 
responsible journalism

I really wish reporters provided the whole story. I know if it was some story about a politician, they would dig into the core facts and expose anything overlooked. But since the war on drugs started, it seems like they've tossed responsible journalism out the door. They said it was MDA...ecstasy is considered mdma. yet they havent brought up the issue of why mda was sold to them. If drugs were legal, things would be much safer. Legalize the stuff and you raise the bar of drug standards, promoting safer drug use.

I hate that the word ecstasy sends soccer moms raging out to join the "war on drugs" because reporters dont have the balls to get the real story.
 
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I've talked to people who were at the party and they said she'd been smoking meth and weed too.. but I don't know if they were lying. She lived just a few minutes from where I live.
 
In the PIHKAL chapter on MDA (not the one freely available online, the one at the start of the book), as well as in the book "Ecstasy: The Complete Guide" by Julie Holland, as well as a couple other sources, say that MDMA was a welcome discovery for psychotherapists because MDA has a much higher risk of having a harmful reaction in users. The numbers were something like "MDA causes medical crises in 1 in 100 users while MDMA causes medical crises in 1 in 100000"

Just going off memory here...
 
http://www.smdailyjournal.org/article.cfm?issue=07-10-04&storyID=32652

Teen cuts deal

in Ecstasy case

An 18-year-old woman cut a deal with prosecutors Wednesday rather than face up to three years in prison for allegedly hiding drugs at the request of an Ecstasy dealer whose wares contributed to the death of a young girl.

Angelique Malabey pleaded no contest Wednesday to one felony count of acting as an accessory to a felony. In return, Malabey was promised no state prison time and no more than one year in county jail. Judge Craig Parsons could also consider probation when he sentences Malabey Aug. 12.

Irma Perez, 14, died after taking a fatal dose of Ecstasy. So far, five people have been arrested for her death. Antonio Rivera, the alleged drug dealer; Calin Fintzi, the boy who gave the drug to the girls; Malabey; and Perez’s two friends. Involuntary manslaughter charges were already filed against Fintzi.
 
So are we ever gonna find out exactly what killed this girl. The lastest I saw on the web it was MDA (incorrectly named Ecstasy). Has anybody seen coroner's report? Public needs to know!!!
 
The same thing has happened in my area. It is sad to see what happens when people are uneducated about drugs like that.
 
This is a real tragedy. Condolences to the families involved.

The 2nd tragedy is all the misinformation being sprouted and handling of the two other 14 yo girls.

According to the paramedic's report, Perez had taken an excessive dose -- three "Valentine ecstasy" pills -- and possibly alcohol and/or other drugs as well. While her two friends suffered no ill effects, Perez had an extremely rare reaction. She experienced what emergency physician Dr. Karl Sporer calls "serotonin syndrome": rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, high fever and agitation.
Click to expand...

So did the girl who died have 1 pill or 3 pills?

Were other drugs involved?

I don't think serotonin syndrome would have been possible from 1 pill as other reports have suggested, unless she of course she had vulnerability to whatever it was that she ingested.

I can't believe the authorities are charging the other 2 girls, this is sending a message to other young people that if you do get caught you will be busted. This will not encourage people to seek help if something does go wrong.

Further more one life has already been lost what is the point of ruining another to young girl’s lives as well by locking them up? It’s a fucking disgrace.

And the journo's need to get some clue on what they are reporting about. No wonder why there is so much misinformation about. MDA is not ecstasy.
 
Ecstasy death defendant weighs offer

Ecstasy death defendant weighs offer

July 27/04

By Michelle Durand, Daily Journal Staff

The 14-year-old girl who hosted the slumber party where a Belmont eight-grader fatally experimented with Ecstasy has until Thursday to consider a plea bargain that could spare her involuntary manslaughter charges.

The girl, whose name is being withheld because she is a minor, is one of two girls arrested in the week following the death of Irma Perez. Both are charged with child endangerment and illegal drug possession.

At a pre-trial conference yesterday, Judge Richard Livermore ordered more probation reports before he decides whether the girl could be sent to the California Youth Authority. The girl was also told she has until Thursday to plead no contest to a fraction of the felonies. If she does, involuntary manslaughter charges will not be added. If she does not, the upgraded felony will still be considered, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

The other girl faces the same situation though she has yet to have her formal pre-trial conference, Wagstaffe said.

Since April 30, both girls have been in custody at Hillcrest Juvenile Facility.

The three girls took the pills at an April 23 slumber party in Belmont but only Perez had a severe reaction. The two friends did not alert an adult until early the next morning. By the time 911 was called, Perez was already unconscious. She was considered brain dead Sunday but was not taken off life support until the following Wednesday evening.

Five people have been arrested in connection to the drug use, including the two minor girls and one 17-year-old boy. Antonio Rivera, 20, of Belmont, is accused of giving the drug to 17-year-old Calin Fintzi who allegedly sold the drug to the girls.

Fintzi is charged with involuntary manslaughter and may still be charged as an adult. Authorities claim the girls called Fintzi after Perez reported feeling ill and he suggested they give her marijuana.

Rivera is looking at a dozen felony charges, including drug possession, possessing drugs for sale and giving drugs to a minor to sell. He is also charged in an unrelated drug sale case.

Fintzi is also housed at juvenile hall and Rivera remains in custody at San Mateo County Jail in lieu of $1 million.

LInk
 
For christ's sake, these are just 14 year old girls. What good does it serve to make them face criminal charges after all they have been through already?

One out of every 32 people are currently in prison or on parole in the United States. What does that say about our legal system???
 
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