Father Dies Over Heroin As Son Pounds On Locked Door

MILWAUKEE, WI — A Milwaukee drug dealer known as "Ghost" has been charged with the death of the man after he took the fatal dose while locked in a bathroom as his son tried in vain to save him.

On Friday, Feb. 10, Milwaukee police were dispatched to an apartment in the 1700 block of W. Lincoln Ave. in Milwaukee for man who died of a heroin overdose.

When officers arrived on-scene, a woman told police that she arrived back at her apartment to use the bathroom. She found the bathroom door was locked only to find out that that a man and his girlfriend were in the bathroom. The man's son who was in the house at the time, tried in vain to reach his dad, who was behind the locked door but was not answering, according to the criminal complaint.

According to police, once the door was finally forced open after the woman came home, they learned that the boy's father had died from an apparent drug overdose. The other person, a woman, was revived and transported to the hospital.

According to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office, the man's cause of death was acute mixed drug intoxication, including" alprazolam, cocaine, furanyl, fentanyl and heroin.

Tracking Down a Ghost

The surviving female victim from the incident in the bathroom told police that she had used her relative's cell phone to contact a drug dealer to purchase heroin for herself and the deceased man. Police took possession of the phone, which ultimately led them to a supplier known to the woman as "Ghost," according to the criminal complaint.

Searching through their database, police located a likely suspect and showed the woman the supposed picture of "Ghost" from a photo lineup.

She identified Ghost, who had been identified by police as William R. Shaw, of Milwaukee, police reported.

According to Shaw's criminal complaint, after several attempts by way of a confidential informant, a drug deal was arranged with Shaw. On February 13, the informant successfully ordered-up heroin from Shaw. Shaw arrived at the predetermined location of the buy driving a silver Chrysler 300 - the same one that Shaw arrived in during the fateful heroin transaction of three days earlier. He was arrested by police and quantities of heroin and cocaine were recovered, as well as a firearm.

The Fateful Transaction

According to Shaw's criminal complaint, on Feb. 10, when the woman bought the heroin from Ghost, she got into the back seat of his Chrysler 300. Ghost was in the passenger seat and handed over the $20, and Ghost poured the heroin into a piece of paper she had brought with her. The heroin was dark gray with small chunks.

She and the man went into the basement and snorted the heroin.
The woman went on to tell police that the heroin she used with the man didn't seem to feel any different when she ingested
it. She and the man had been smoking crack prior to doing the heroin, the criminal complaint stated.

Len Bias Law

Shaw has been charged with First Degree Reckless Homicide-delivery of drugs, also known as the Len Bias Law.

The Len Bias law, in which a drug dealer can face a homicide charge for the delivery of a fatal drug dose, was signed into law in Wisconsin in 1988. The law was named college basketball star Len Bias, who overdosed on cocaine mere days after he was drafted into the NBA in 1986.

In Milwaukee County alone, there were 255 overdose deaths in 2015 with 16 of them resulting in prosecutions under Len Bias. And in Waukesha County, there were 44 overdose deaths in 2015, five of which resulted in charges.

If convicted, Shaw could face up to 25 years prison.

---------

patch.com file graphic