Four suspected drug dealers have been arrested following an investigation into the death of a 16-year-old San Francisco boy who ingested a counterfeit pill containing powerful synthetic opioids.
Dante Lacourte died in April after taking a pill containing cychlorphine and isotonitazene, according to the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
“This tragic case set off a sweeping investigation,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie wrote in a post announcing the arrests and the seizure of more than 20,000 suspected counterfeit pills.
Dante’s mother, Christina Lacourte, reportedly found the teenager unresponsive in his bedroom after attempting to wake him for school.
“It just takes one pill,” she told The New York Times.
San Francisco police began investigating April 7 after officers responded to the family’s Bush Street home. Investigators recovered what appeared to be pharmaceutical medication from the room.
The department’s Narcotics Unit examined Dante’s phone and other evidence to identify the suspected sources of the pills, according to an official release.
Undercover officers then conducted controlled purchases from the suspected suppliers before obtaining search warrants for three San Francisco residences.
Police arrested Nicholas Wallace, 46, at his O’Farrell Street home Sept. 8. Officers reported finding 34 pills believed to be oxycodone and an unspecified quantity of cocaine.
Sharonee Hyson, 44, was also arrested at the residence after police allegedly found him possessing 11.7 grams of cocaine base and a loaded firearm. Police said Hyson was on active parole.
Officers searched two additional residences on Executive Park Boulevard and Newhall Avenue the following day.
Leander Pitts, 46, and Starr Lamare, 39, were arrested during those operations.
Investigators seized more than 20,000 pills suspected of being counterfeit Xanax, oxycodone, hydrocodone and cyclobenzaprine, along with pills containing fentanyl and other substances.
The raids also produced 68.5 grams of MDMA, 6.5 grams of black tar heroin, a semiautomatic rifle, a semiautomatic pistol and $2,267 in cash, police said.
All four suspects were booked into the San Francisco County Jail on multiple allegations, including possession of narcotics for sale and firearms offenses.
The arrests are accusations, and the defendants have not been convicted in connection with Dante’s death.
Police said the medical examiner determined that Dante died from a combination of substances that included cychlorphine, an emerging synthetic opioid considered more potent than fentanyl.
The pill also contained isotonitazene, commonly called ISO, according to a public-health alert issued after the teenager’s death.
Isotonitazene belongs to a group of synthetic opioids known as nitazenes. The substances were originally developed during the 1950s but were never approved for medical use.
The Drug Enforcement Administration describes isotonitazene as a Schedule I controlled substance with a high potential for abuse.
Laboratory studies cited by the DEA found that the substance produced stronger pain-relieving effects than fentanyl in rodents. Its abuse has been associated with numerous fatal overdoses.
Isotonitazene has been discovered in powder form and counterfeit pills marked to resemble prescription medications, including oxycodone tablets.
Health authorities have warned that consumers may not know the drugs are present because counterfeit pills can appear nearly identical to legitimate medication.
Cychlorphine can also reportedly be mixed into pills, powders or cocaine, making it difficult for users to identify.
“It can be mixed into a pill. It can be sold as a powder. It can be mixed in with cocaine,” DEA San Francisco Field Division Special Agent in Charge Bob Beris said, according to the New York Post.
Police are working with the Food and Drug Administration to determine whether any of the pills seized during the September raids contain cychlorphine.
“Our investigators will stop at nothing to ensure deadly narcotics are taken off our streets and individuals who peddle them are arrested and held accountable,” Police Chief Derrick Lew said.
