LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� In 2019, Brandon McDowell was contacted by a sophomore in college who asked to buy Percocet, a prescription painkiller.
What the 20-year-old sold her instead were counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that can be lethal in a dose as small as 2 milligrams. Hours later, Alexandra Capelouto, also 20, was dead in her Temecula, California, home.
It is an increasingly common scenario as fentanyl overdoses have become a for minors in the last five years, with more than 74,000 people in 2023, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
McDowell has been behind bars since 2022 with a fentanyl possession conviction. But the Capeloutos have now won an additional $5.8 million judgment against him for the death of their daughter.
鈥淲e鈥檝e won the battle but not the war,鈥� said Matt Capelouto, Alexandra's father. 鈥淲e still have a long ways to go in terms of holding drug dealers accountable for deaths.鈥�
Baruch Cohen, the Capeloutos' lawyer, said this was the first time a drug dealer has been held liable civilly for someone's death, to his knowledge.
鈥淗ere's the hope that this judgment will be the shot that's heard around the world, so to speak,鈥� Cohen said. 鈥淏ecause if it inhibits another drug deal from going down, where the drug dealer ... realizes that besides the jail sentence, he is liable for millions of dollars of damages, maybe he鈥檒l think twice.鈥�
McDowell, now 25, first pleaded guilty in California federal court in 2022 for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, a charge that carries a 20-year minimum sentence if linked to death or serious injury and convicted by a jury. McDowell was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Alexandra's father felt that wasn't enough. He and his wife, who was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer that year and has been battling it since, decided to sue McDowell for wrongful death.
鈥淔or taking somebody's life, that was not a fair sentence,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was going to pursue every means possible to make sure justice was served.鈥�
While McDowell filed for bankruptcy, the Capeloutos won a judgment of about $5 million against him. The Superior Court of Riverside County found he sold harmful narcotics with 鈥渨illful and malicious鈥� intent that lead to Alexandra Capelouto's death. A few months later, the Capeloutos filed another case in federal bankruptcy court to ensure that McDowell could not escape his debt under bankruptcy.
鈥淏ankruptcy is designed for honest debtors, not crooked criminal debtors,鈥� Cohen said. 鈥淭his judgment will haunt him the rest of his life, and when he does make money, we鈥檒l garnish it. When he does buy property, we鈥檒l put a lien on it.鈥�
Judge Mark Houle ruled in the Capeloutos' favor, ordering a $5.8 million judgment against Brandon McDowell that includes a year and half of interest in addition to the initial $5 million.
Since his daughter's death, Matt Capelouto founded the non-profit Stop Drug Homicide to advocate for families and push for more legislation to hold drug dealers accountable. One is Alexandra's Law, which would require a formal warning be given to anyone with a drug-related conviction to inform them of the dangers of dealing drugs and that they could be charged with murder if they distribute drugs that lead to someone's death.
In California, it can be difficult for prosecutors to charge drug dealers with someone's death because they must prove the dealer had knowledge that the drugs could cause death, Capelouto said. Having an admonishment on the record for dealers who have been convicted of a drug-related crime could be used as evidence in future cases if someone dies from the drugs they sold. Alexandra's Law is included in Proposition 36, a that Californians will vote on in November.
Capelouto is also part of a group of 60 families suing Snapchat for its . Alexandra Capelouto and Brandon McDowell had communicated over Snapchat when she bought pills from him.
Justin McDowell, Brandon's father, said it is unfair for his son to take all the blame. He said his son was struggling with drug abuse and had been in rehab, and he didn't live with him at the time because the McDowells had younger children.
鈥淢y son is no drug dealer at all. They were both users. They both had an addiction,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e was a stupid 20-year-old kid.鈥�
Justin McDowell said he felt like the Capeloutos were seeking revenge through their lawsuits, and he did not have the money and resources to fight on his son's behalf in court. Brandon McDowell was being held at the federal prison in San Pedro during the lawsuit and did not have lawyers to defend himself in civil or bankruptcy court.
鈥淚 think that's sad, that shouldn't be allowed,鈥� Justin McDowell said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l wait for him to get out of prison, give him a hug, and figure out how to deal with the situation ... the kid's never going to make $5.8 million in his life."
Matt Capelouto said there was no evidence of his daughter having a drug addiction, and Brandon McDowell's addiction does not absolve him of responsibility in her death.
鈥淲hen you go from drug user to drug dealer, you cross a line from needing help to needing to be held accountable,鈥� he said.
Jaimie Ding, The Associated Press
