Clarkston man charged in fentanyl death

Oct. 30—A 28-year-old Clarkston man is facing a charge of involuntary manslaughter after his arrest Friday morning for allegedly selling fentanyl pills that led to the overdose death of 26-year-old Zachary Taylor of Lewiston last month.

Kollin D. Mazur waived extradition from Asotin County on Friday and was transported to the Nez Perce County jail to face the felony charge, according to Sheriff John Hilderbrand. Mazur should make his initial appearance in Magistrate Court on Monday afternoon, according to Prosecutor Justin Coleman.

Members of the Quad Cities Drug Task Force arrested Mazur at his trailer home in the Clarkston Heights after an investigation over the last several weeks. In a news release, Coleman said overdoses and fatalities because of the sale and use of fentanyl tablets have quickly become a crisis in the community.

"The danger of the continued sale of these pills cannot be overstated," Coleman said. "People who sell these drugs are preying on people with addiction issues who oftentimes don't even understand the risk of serious overdose or death by taking them."

The tablets are frequently determined to be counterfeit blue oxycodone pills with a letter "M" stamped on one side and "30" on the other. They originate from clandestine labs in Mexico, and have nicknames like Mexis, Mexi 30s or "blues." But instead of oxycodone, they can contain wildly varying dosages of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which is 80-100 times as powerful as morphine.

According to the news release, Mazur allegedly sold Taylor the fentanyl tablets Sept. 12. Later that day, Taylor's mother found his body face down in a bedroom at his residence in the 2600 block of Eighth Avenue in Lewiston, according to a probable cause affidavit from the Lewiston Police Department.

Investigating officers found a piece of aluminum foil next to Taylor with charred residue on it and portions of a blue pill, along with a straw and lighter. The affidavit said those items are paraphernalia commonly used to smoke fentanyl pills. Fentanyl concentrations of approximately seven nanograms per milliliter or greater in the blood have been associated with fatalities. Taylor had a blood concentration of 12 nanograms per milliliter, according to autopsy results.

Investigators were allegedly able to link Mazur to the sale of the pills through text messages they found on Taylor's phone. They initially contacted Mazur during a traffic stop Sept. 17 after a confidential informant allegedly bought fentanyl pills from him. Officers read him his rights before a subsequent interview at the Lewiston Police Department, but Mazur allegedly admitted to selling Taylor the pills.

Mazur also allegedly stated he was the middleman for the sale. Coleman said the investigation is ongoing, and those who supplied the fentanyl to Mazur could also face charges. Taylor had previously bought legitimately manufactured oxycodone pills from Mazur, he said, and believed that's what he was buying.

"(Mazur) is the one who directly contacted the victim to sell him these pills, knowing what they were," Coleman said of why Mazur was charged first. "Indications are that the victim did not know what they were. That's a big difference, and an important piece of this."

Mazur faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $10,000 if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The investigation included the Lewiston Police Department, the FBI, the Quad Cities Drug Task Force and the prosecutor's office, according to the news release.

"Drug dealers need to understand they can be held accountable for people dying by selling these pills, and everyone needs to get that these are very dangerous drugs," Coleman said in the news release. "Hopefully this case brings some awareness to the issue."

Prosecutors across the country are filing murder and manslaughter charges against fentanyl dealers, and gaining convictions. Authorities in Nevada charged a 21-year-old Las Vegas woman with second-degree murder Thursday for allegedly selling a counterfeit prescription pill that caused the overdose death of another 21-year-old woman. Remnants of the pill later tested positive for fentanyl.

A 30-year-old Duluth, Wis., man was charged with first-degree reckless homicide earlier this week for allegedly selling a fatal dose of fentanyl to a man from neighboring Superior. And a Kent County, Md., jury found a 44-year-old man guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this week for selling a fentanyl capsule that led to the overdose and death of a 31-year-old man.

Closer to home, the prosecutor's and sheriff's offices in King County, Wash., have launched a coordinated effort to charge fentanyl dealers with murder if their customers overdose on their product in an effort to disincentivize what has become a lucrative business. They have charged three individuals with controlled substance homicide so far this year, more than the previous two years combined, according to King 5 News.

There is no controlled substance homicide statute on the books in Idaho, but Coleman said he plans on lobbying the Legislature to add one in light of the rapid increase in fentanyl overdoses and deaths. Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr. will join Coleman at noon Wednesday for the Rotary Club of Lewiston meeting at the Hells Canyon Grand Hotel in Lewiston to speak about the issue.

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com

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