Feds Charge 4 in 'Killer' Heroin Linked to 60 Deaths

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A Beverly Hills man is among four people accused in federal court of distributing a deadly mix of heroin and the painkiller fentanyl that that has been linked to as many as 60 fatal drug overdoses in metro Detroit since Jan. 1.

Federal prosecutors tied the four men to three of those deaths as part of a nationwide crackdown that targets drug traffickers with enhanced penalties – life in prison – when someone dies from taking the drugs.

U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said in an interview with the Detroit Free Press that heroin trafficking is a problem across the country, where heroin overdose deaths tripled from 2010-2013, as well as locally.

Heroin deaths in Oakland County are a “very significant problem,” she said, noting they more than doubled between 2013 and 2014.

“We hope that strong enforcement will deter the distribution of heroin,” McQuade said. “It’s poison. And it kills people.”

McQuade’s office announced the charges against the four men Friday afternoon. Those charged are:

• Zachary Burdette, 29, of Ypsilanti, is charged with drug possession and faces life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors allege he sold a fatal dose of heroin and fentanyl to Benny Cavazos, 27, of Ypsilanti Township on April 4. If convicted, he faces up to life in federal prison and a $1 million fine. Burdette is free on bond.
• Roy “Junior” Brownlee, 49, of Ypsilanti, is charged with supplying the heroin/fentanyl mixture that killed Cavazos. Brownlee also faces life in prison and a $1 million fine. He’s being held without bond.
• Charlie Stevens, 24, of Beverly Hills, is charged with distributing the pain medication Vicodin to an 18-year-old man from Franklin who died June 25, 2011. If convicted, he faces 15 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine. He is free on bond.
• Kenyatta “Big” McConico, 36, of Detroit, faces life in federal prison and a fine of $1 million for allegedly distributing heroin to a 35-year-old Redford Township woman who died of an overdose on March 19. He is in custody, and his bail hearing is next week.

Federal prosecutors said in court records that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration launched an investigation into the Ypsilanti-based drug distribution ring in April after about 60 residents of Wayne and Washtenaw counties people died after taking the drug, according to The Detroit News.

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