Two accused fentanyl dealers who allegedly provided fatal doses that killed a pair of Hawaii island paddlers celebrating in a Waikiki hotel room June 5 are facing multiple federal charges in the mass overdose incident that also sent four victims to the hospital.
Avery James Garrard, 31, and Keina Drageset, 26, are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute (resulting in death) 40 grams or more of fentanyl.
“This complaint illustrates the seriousness of fentanyl and also highlights the effectiveness of interagency investigations in going after those who sell and profit from the deadly drug,” Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “HPD will continue to work with our partners at all levels to stop those who engage in illegal drug activity and put public lives at risk.”
Sixty people died of fentanyl overdoses in Hawaii in 2022.
A hearing is set for Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom A. Trader on the motion to hold Garrard and Drageset at the Federal Detention Center Honolulu until trial. Their preliminary hearing is set for July 11.
Garrard’s attorney, Neal J. Kugiya; Drageset’s counsel, Jacquelyn T. Esser; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marshall H. Silverberg, who is prosecuting the case, declined comment.
The U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Honolulu police officers “have been conducting a criminal investigation into Garrard and Drageset,” according to court documents.
On June 4 at about 6:22 a.m., HPD and Emergency Medical Services responded to a 911 call at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort. HPD said it found five victims in a hotel room who were either unresponsive or required medical attention. Authorities said substances found at the scene tested positive as methamphetamine and fentanyl. Joseph Iseke, 44, of Kailua was pronounced dead at the scene. Steven Berengue, 53, of Kailua-Kona died at a hospital within 24 hours.
Police said “multiple types of drugs were found at the scene,” including a small baggie with a white crystalline substance, along with a glass pipe, and black-tar heroin.
During the investigation, DEA agents obtained hotel records for the room where the overdoses occurred and spoke to the person who had booked the room and who had been taken to the hospital in critical condition. Agents also spoke with another victim, who described Berengue as an old friend and said the group had run into him coming back to the hotel from a concert.
According to the criminal complaint, Berengue said he had consumed alcohol earlier and “may have used methamphetamine that day, but could not recall.”
Berengue claimed that Iseke brought crystal methamphetamine to the room, “but was not sure what the other drugs were.” The victim who had described Berengue as an old friend said he snorted a white powder in the hotel room, which he allegedly got from Iseke, and “within a few minutes” blacked out.
The victim said he thought he was using cocaine and did not know it contained fentanyl. Urinalysis results showed a presumptive positive for amphetamines, methamphetamines, opiates and fentanyl, according to the complaint.
The other three surviving victims told authorities they believed Iseke was providing “cocaine and/or molly and all three snorted the substances allegedly not knowing they contained fentanyl.”
Investigators found text message exchanges on Iseke’s phone with a source that began May 13. That source assured that “You guys all fly clean, I got you,” records show.
“While not yet formally charged, (that source) is facing federal criminal charges and began cooperating with law enforcement in hopes of ultimately receiving consideration for a lower sentence,” according to the complaint.
The following is an excerpt of the conversation between Iseke and the source between June 3 and 4:
>> Iseke: “Eh what is the pinkish purple powder?”
>> Source: “Exactly what I’ve been looking for all night. Hope you still have it. Should be a bag with brown and one with purple. I have to return that stuff. Call me in the morning please? Big, big mistake. Running around like an idiot today and went all different directions at once. Anyways call me in the morning if can so I can run by. Thanks bro”
On June 20, investigators conducted a probable-cause arrest of a second source for possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute. The second source also cooperated and consented to a search of their residence and their phone. Investigators seized approximately 50 grams of fentanyl.
Authorities were told by the second source that their only supplier for fentanyl in the past few months was allegedly “Avery.” Authorities were also told that Gerrard’s girlfriend Drageset was the “brains of the operation” and knew about the fentanyl distribution, according to federal court records.
According to USPS business records, since March 20 there have been five parcels sent from Los Angeles, San Diego and Palm Desert, Calif., to Drageset’s home.
On June 23, DEA and FBI agents with a search warrant of the home found multiple baggies of suspected controlled substances in plain view on the kitchen table, along with paraphernalia for distribution.
Investigators also found approximately $100,000 in a safe “along with controlled substances that tested positive for the presence of fentanyl.” A laptop that was logged onto the dark web, with multiple marketplaces saved for ordering narcotics, was also found, according to the complaint.
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Advertiser staff writer Allison Schaefers contributed to this report.
