3 new cases of dealing resulting in death are filed as prosecutor looks to increase enforcement of deadly overdoses

INDIANAPOLIS – Ryan Mears, the Marion County Prosecutor, announced three new cases of dealing drugs resulting in death have been filed in the county over the past week.

Prosecutors claim the cases reflect an increased effort to prosecute that specific crime.

The new cases involve three different suspects in which five people died from drug overdoses.

While the cases aren’t related, officials said they do share a common message to drug dealers and drug users alike.

In August 2023, at a near east side home along 10th Street, family members found two people dead on the front porch.

“I opened the door and looked at them and they already looked like they were gone,” said Juan Vasquez.

Juan Vasquez called 911, but his cousin Gregory Vasquez Jr. and his girlfriend Trish Perusquia died from a drug overdose.

Juan Vasquez said his cousin was a fun loving guy.

“My cousin was like a brother to me,” he said. “We all miss him.”

Perusquia’s family says she made a mistake, but don’t want the drug use to define he life. They say she was a loving mother to four kids.

Court records claim text messages prove the pair got a lethal dose of cocaine and fentanyl from Alfonso Suarez, a man who is now charged with causing the deaths.

The full press conference featuring Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears can be viewed below:

“It’s great that they’re after these people,” Juan Vasquez said. “I do hope they hold a lot of them accountable because there’s a lot of people out there losing family members.”

At a apartment complex near 62nd and Keystone in May 2023, paramedics found two more people dead from an overdose. Those victims were identified as Jacqlyn Rice and Ryan Parsons.

Shemika Campbell, who served as a caregiver for the family, is accused of giving the victims meth and Xanax in exchange for being excused from her work.

Investigators believe Campbell had also dealt drugs to other clients, sometimes taking their disability checks in exchange for drugs.

In March, staff at a northwest side hotel found another woman, Kashe Mullins, dead.

Police say cell phone messages prove William Warren provided a lethal dose of meth and fentanyl to that victim.

“These cases are absolutely heartbreaking,” Mears said. “The one common element you see in all three cases is fentanyl.”

Over the last two years, hundreds of people have died in Marion County from overdoses involving fentanyl.

While only 16 cases have ended up in court for charges of dealing resulting in death since 2018, law enforcement hopes to deter people from selling drugs and raise awareness to users.

The prosecutor’s office claims since the law’s inception in 2018, prosecutors, along with local and federal agencies, have worked together to better identify potential cases and improve investigative tactics.

An investigation by FOX59 Anchor Angela Ganote in early 2022 found few counties aggressively used the law in its first few years on the books.

The report followed the case of Nathan May, who died from an overdose in July 2020. May, found slumped over inside a car at a hotel parking lot, died from acute fentanyl intoxication, according to autopsy results.

In 2023, significant strides were made to improve the investigative process, resulting in 11 cases filed since January 2023.

“The message we want to raise is the drugs that are being sold have never been more dangerous,” said Mears.

“Never has there been a worse time in our country to use recreational drugs because fentanyl is being added to so many different drugs,” said DEA assistant special agent in charge Mike Gannon.

Dealing resulting in death is a Level One felony which carries a possible sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said they secured their first conviction for one of those cases in 2021 and has subsequently secured two additional convictions.

Jesse Wells contributed to this report.

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