November 10, 2023 – Washington Co., WI – Investigators with the Washington County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Division arrested a 26-year-old City of Racine man on Thursday in connection with a probable fatal fentanyl overdose in the Village of Kewaskum that occurred the prior day.
The Racine man is accused of setting up a drug transaction with the victim late Tuesday evening.
He came from Racine to the Village of Kewaskum where the drug deal was conducted. The victim is believed to have died a short time later. The victim’s official cause of death is pending autopsy results, but initial findings indicate fentanyl was likely involved.
Investigators with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office were requested to assist by the Village of Kewaskum Police Department early Wednesday morning.
In this case, the fentanyl was sold in the form of counterfeit oxycodone pills. The pills are blue and have the markings: “M” on one side and “30” on the other side. Counterfeit pills often contain lethal amounts of fentanyl or methamphetamine and are extremely dangerous as they often appear identical to legitimate prescription pills at first glance, and the user is likely unaware of how lethal they can be. In this case, the suspect even bragged about the strength of the fake pills to the victim before the sale. Unfortunately, these have become all too common place in our community.
The identity of the Racine man is not being released at this time as he has not officially been charged. He will appear in court Friday for a bond hearing because investigators need more time to investigate this matter before determining what charges will be forwarded to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office. This investigation is only in its infancy, but future charges could include delivery of fentanyl and reckless homicide. Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis hopes that this arrest made a day and a half after the death will send a message to those who think about bringing these dangerous drugs into the Washington County community.
“In less than 48 hours we were able to identify the suspect, track him down in Racine, and arrest him. This is the type of tenacity that this agency will bring to those who bring fentanyl into our community.” We would also like to thank the Racine County Sheriff’s Office and the Kewaskum Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.