Two Santa Barbara County men have been indicted on federal charges for allegedly distributing fentanyl that led to the death of a Santa Maria man in jail custody and serious injury to a second man.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office on Tuesday announced 12 criminal cases against California residents who allegedly sold fentanyl and fake pills containing fentanyl that resulted in the deaths of at least one victim or, in one case, overdoses that required hospitalization.
Kaelen Jacobkeali Wendel, 31, of Lompoc, and Michael Villapania, 35, of Santa Barbara, were indicted on Feb. 10 and arraigned in April and March, respectively.
“Both men are being held without bond pending trial,” the Department of Justice said in a statement from its Central District of California U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Investigations were overseen by the DEA-led Overdose Justice Task Force and, for the local case, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Suria M. Bahadue.
On Oct. 20, 2022, two men in custody at the Northern Branch Jail overdosed on fentanyl, and custody deputies and medical jail staff administered Narcan and CPR.
One man died and one man was saved.
The Sheriff’s-Coroner’s Bureau identified the man who died in jail custody as Edgar Mescua Estrada, 37, also known as Edgar Estrada Amezcua, from Santa Maria.
The man who overdosed and was revived was identified by authorities only as J.V.
Wendel “had smuggled fentanyl into the jail and into the housing unit where the overdose occurred,” spokeswoman Raquel Zick said. The two men “conspired” to “sell some of the fentanyl in exchange for jail commissary items.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, “the investigation revealed that Wendel, a new inmate at the facility, brought fentanyl into the unit, and Villapania, who knew both Wendel and J.V., brokered a deal with J.V. in which Villapania allegedly sold some of the drugs in exchange for commissary items.
“J.V., in turn, allegedly shared some of the drugs with his cellmate, E.E., the inmate who died after ingesting the fentanyl.”
According to Santa Barbara County Superior Court records, Wendel and Villapania were charged in November 2022 with transportation or sale of a narcotic/controlled substance, with an enhancement of great bodily injury, and bringing or sending contraband into a jail facility.
The charges were dismissed in the furtherance of justice late last year.
Madison Whitmore, a senior deputy district attorney with the county, told Noozhawk the District Attorney’s Office dismissed its case against Wendel and Villapania “in order for the (Assistant United States Attorney) in LA to indict them for distribution causing the death to the Santa Maria man.”
Wendel was in custody for outstanding property crime warrants, and Villapania was in custody after being arrested for multiple outstanding warrants, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Tuesday.
According to court records, Wendel was apparently being held in custody for charges of burglary and grand theft. He was charged on Oct. 11, 2022, and pleaded no contest to grand theft on Oct. 25, according to Superior Court records.
Villapania was convicted of bringing or sending contraband into a jail facility in August 2022, according to court records.
During a press conference announcing the federal indictments, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said in a prepared statement: “We are working in partnership with public health officials and community members, leaders, and organizations to increase awareness and educate the public about the dangers of fentanyl, and to make substance use treatment available to those who are addicted, and to adopt harm-reduction strategies including widespread distribution of Narcan, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
“But prevention, treatment, and harm reduction effort alone are not going to solve the fentanyl problem our nation grapples with today. We must also resolutely enforce the laws against those who cavalierly manufacture and distribute dangerous drugs like fentanyl without any regard for the lethal consequences of their reckless actions.”
In October 2022, the Sheriff’s Office reported that three men were found unconscious of apparent overdoses in a Northern Branch Jail housing unit.
The first man was reported unconscious by cellmates at 9:06 p.m. on Oct. 19, and he was given four rounds of opioid overdose-reversing naloxone (brand name Narcan) between jail staff and responding paramedics, who transported him to the hospital.
At 1:45 a.m., custody deputies responding to the same D Unit for a medical emergency, where they found another man unconscious. They cleared everyone else out of the unit and found another man unconscious.
“While County Fire and AMR were en route, custody deputies administered seven rounds of Naloxone to the first inmate and performed CPR. When AMR arrived, they continued thorough lifesaving measures, but were unable to revive the inmate who was pronounced dead at about 2:20 a.m.,” Zick said in a statement at the time.
“The additional inmate was administered six doses of Naloxone by custody deputies, along with CPR. He eventually regained consciousness and was transported to an area hospital.”