Laura Kimble, senior drug chemist and forensic scientist with the Hamilton County CoronerÕs Crime Laboratory located in Blue Ash, shows some of the fake oxycodone, Thursday, March 24, 2022 that was seized in a large drug bust. Legally prescribed, the drug is used to relieve severe pain. It is an opioid analgesic. The fake pills contain fentanyl and acetaminophen. But though the drugs were confiscated in the same drug bust, theyÕre not all the same. Kimble said one pill tested with no actual drugs in it. She noted the discoloration and smudging of the letters. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and is 100 times more potent than morphine. Covid Death Hit One Million
Los Angeles, California – A South Bay man pleaded guilty today to distributing fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills that led to a fatal overdose in January 2020, federal prosecutors announced.
Marcus Michael Takaya Poydras, 36, of Redondo Beach, admitted to one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. According to his plea agreement, Poydras sold approximately 90 counterfeit pills to a drug dealer in January 2020. These pills were falsely represented as oxycodone but contained fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid responsible for many overdose deaths.
On the evening of January 22, 2020, Poydras sold the pills to a dealer and sent a photograph of 10 pills, assuring the dealer they were authentic. The dealer then shared the image with the victim, claiming the pills were “real.” The victim purchased 20 pills for $340 at a mall parking lot in Marina del Rey and later consumed them, suffering a fatal overdose.
Poydras also admitted to possessing narcotics, including cocaine, with intent to distribute, as well as possessing firearms during his drug activities. In July 2020, he had a .38-caliber revolver with an obliterated serial number, which he obtained from Melvin Ramon Washington, a former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) technician and one of Poydras’s drug customers. Washington later admitted to providing the firearm and making false statements to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) under a deferred prosecution agreement. He stopped working at LASD in July 2023.
In addition, Poydras acknowledged possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute in January 2021, along with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol used to further his trafficking operations.
U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer has set a sentencing hearing for September 8. Poydras faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, with a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment. He has been in federal custody since September 2021.
This case is part of the DEA’s Overdose Justice Task Force investigation, a joint effort by the DEA, LASD, and Redondo Beach Police Department to combat the surge in opioid-related deaths in the Los Angeles area, particularly those linked to fentanyl. The task force works closely with local law enforcement to analyze evidence and prosecute traffickers contributing to the opioid crisis.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Castañeda of the Transnational Organized Crime Section is prosecuting the case.
