Man Arrested for Manslaughter After Fentanyl Overdose Death

OLD SAYBROOK, CT — Jake Unwin was a celebrated athlete who grew up in East Lyme and graduated from East Lyme High School and Bridgton Academy. He died as a result of a fentanyl overdose last summer. He was just 24.

It was early evening on August 6 when the East Lyme Police Department responded to a local home where a young man was unresponsive. Life saving measures were begun by a neighbor but Unwin died three days later at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital as a result of "grave conditions caused by a narcotics overdose," police said and an investigation was begun by Old Saybrook Police detectives who downloaded texts from his cell phone, which revealed who "sold the narcotics, the quantity, price, location, and when the narcotics were sold."

Police said cell phone data also "detailed a back and forth questioning between the seller and buyer in an attempt by the buyer to ensure that the product being purchased did not contain fentanyl."

Police found cell phone data and search warrants showed banking information and location of the sale. And the drugs found by East Lyme Police at the initial medical emergency were analyzed by and found to contain fentanyl, the state Medical Examiner’s Office determined.

Old Saybrook Police detectives got an arrest warrant for Robert John Simoni, 29, of 9 Denmore Lane, Old Saybrook. But police learned he was in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Police there helped local investigators by tracking down Simoni, and took him into custody. He will be extradited to Connecticut to face a second-degree manslaughter charge. Simoni will also be charged with narcotics possession and sale.

Old Saybrook Police said they will "continue to work diligently to combat narcotic activity in our community."

According to his obituary, Unwin grew up on Saunders Point, loved the outdoors and was an "exceptional athlete and spent the majority of his youth on the baseball field."

But his family wrote that he "struggled all of his life with anxiety, which eventually led him to substance abuse. He spent a few years in Colorado in recovery where he made great friends who helped him on his journey." They wrote that he had come home in the summer of 2018 and was "looking forward to starting the welding program at Electric Boat."

His family had asked last summer that people wishing to honor his life to "please donate to the Brian Dagle Foundation in East Lyme, Oceanside Recovery in Niantic or SCADD in New London."