Wethersfield Man Charged In Overdose Death In Meriden: Feds

MERIDEN, CT — A Wethersfield man has been charged with distributing narcotics to an overdose victim in Meriden, according to officials.

A federal grand jury in New Haven recently returned an indictment charging Jimmy Lassus, 39, with distribution of fentanyl and oxycodone, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery, Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, and Meriden Police Chief Roberto Rosado announced in a joint news release.

The charge stems from an investigation of an overdose death in October 2023.

Lassus appeared in federal court in Hartford on Friday and pleaded not guilty. He has been detained since his arrest on a federal criminal complaint on April 11, 2024, according to officials.

On Oct. 6, 2023, Meriden police responded to a residence on a report of a suspected overdose and found a 27-year-old woman unresponsive in a bedroom. She was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to officials.

“The investigation revealed that for several months before the victim’s death, the victim engaged in numerous drug-related text message conversations with Lassus,” officials wrote in a news release. “The text messages revealed that Lassus supplied the victim with oxycodone, and that he supplied her with fentanyl that she ingested in the hours before she died. The victim stated in text messages and in a journal entry that it was her first time using fentanyl.

“The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the victim’s death to be caused by acute intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl, benzodiazepines, xylazine, and oxycodone.”

If convicted of the charge in the indictment, Lassus faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, according to officials.