ACCIDENTAL OVERDOSE CASES
EQUAL MURDER CHARGES?
THE “HOW TO” FROM INITIAL
INVESTIGATION TO CONVICTION
Course Description:
Accidental overdose deaths have been a major problem across the United States for many decades. However, the number of accidental overdose deaths has increased dramatically since 2013, especially in the State of Florida. The massive increase in accidental overdose deaths has several contributing factors. One of those major factors is due to the introduction of synthetic opioids, such as Fentanyl and its various analogs, into neighborhoods all across the United States. These synthetic opioids are significantly stronger than many commonly used street level drugs. For example, synthetic opioids are 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. This means that even the smallest amount of these synthetic opioids can be fatal.
The really scary and sad fact of this issue is that there are thousands of truly innocent people, ones that are not your typical drug addict, who are dying from these accidental drug overdoses. These deaths are routinely happening because Drug Trafficking Organizations are illicitly manufacturing counterfeit pills in clandestine labs that contain these synthetic opioids, such as Fentanyl. These counterfeit pills are designed to look identical to legitimate prescription medications such as Oxycontin, Percocet, Xanax, Adderall, etc. Individuals who are not intentionally seeking to use Fentanyl or any of these other synthetic opioids will consume a counterfeit pill, because they believe it is a legitimate prescription medication, and they wind up dead. Many victims have died the very first time that they unknowingly ingested these counterfeit pills. The Fentanyl crisis facing the State of Florida, and the entire United States, is felt everyday by those who have lost a loved one due to this epidemic. It is our job as Law Enforcement Officers and Prosecutors to investigate these types of cases and when there is evidence of criminal wrongdoing, hold these drug dealers responsible for these deaths. The good news is that the law is on our side and there are Florida State Statutes currently in place that when used properly, combined with a thorough investigation by law enforcement, can and will hold these drug dealers criminally responsible for these unexpected deaths that impact so many families around the country.
The Lead Instructor for this informative 8-hour class is Molly McGuire. She is a seasoned prosecutor currently assigned to the Homicide Trial Unit at the Broward County State Attorney’s Office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. ASA McGuire is one of the leading legal minds in the State of Florida in this area of the law. She has successfully prosecuted numerous members of various Drug Trafficking Organizations for murder, including convictions for 1st Degree Murder, related to these types of accidental overdose death cases. This course focuses on bringing those who continue to sell illegal narcotics to justice when a death results from their criminal conduct. It is important to note that unlike the elements of some other forms of murder, prosecutors DO NOT need to prove that the drug dealer intended to cause the death of their customer. The State of Florida allows for the prosecution of an individual who causes, or contributes, to the death of another due to the sale or distribution of illegal narcotics. We will discuss many recent real cases and allow plenty of time for Q & A for the participants. During this training course, we will discuss the roles and responsibilities of everybody involved in an accidental overdose death case. We will discuss in depth the extremely important jobs that the initial responding officers and the Lead Detective have in this type of case and the best practices for them to follow in order to ensure that the Prosecutor will be able to succeed when presenting the case at trial. We will also discuss the many important “Do’s and Don’ts” for both Law Enforcement Officers and Prosecutors regarding these types of investigations and prosecutions.
This class is extremely valuable for Assistant State/District Attorneys, as well as Law Enforcement Officers, because we will be covering in depth what the current law requires in these specific types of cases, the pitfalls and nuances of these kinds of investigations and prosecutions, and what is needed to put forth a successful case in court. In this class, you will learn about utilizing cell phone mapping to aid in your investigation of positively identifying the potential suspect(s) who may be responsible for the death that you are investigating. You will learn the specific types of questions that you should be asking all witnesses. Participants in this class will also receive instruction on the critical role that the Medical Examiner’s Office will play in this type of investigation, the two primary jobs of the Medical Examiner, and how to interpret their reports that will ultimately shape the direction of your investigation.
Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this 1-day training course, participants will have a much better understanding of how to properly investigate an accidental overdose scene and successfully prosecute the suspect(s) responsible for that death under current law. Participants will learn how to identify critical evidence and then legally collect and process that evidence so that it will be considered “admissible evidence” at trial. Participants will be presented with numerous real-life accidental overdose cases wherein the drug dealer was successfully charged and convicted of the murder of the decedent. Perhaps the most important information that the participants of this training course will be provided with are the many “tough lessons learned” and the wonderful success stories that we will openly and honestly share from doing these types of investigations and prosecutions. We will share these experiences so that the participants can maximize their knowledge by learning from both our mistakes and successes that we have had investigating and prosecuting these types of cases.
Who Should Attend:
All City, County, State and Federal Law Enforcement Officers to include Road Patrol Officers, Detectives, Crime Scene Technicians, Supervisors, Command Staff Personnel, All Prosecutors, Investigators working for a State/District Attorney’s Office, Medical Examiners/Coroners, Investigators from a Medical Examiner/Coroner’s Office, Investigators and Judge Advocate Generals from the U.S. Armed Forces, and Police Legal Advisors.
Requirements to Attend:
To attend this class, you must be currently employed as one of the below-listed descriptions:
1. A sworn law enforcement officer
2. A sworn reserve law enforcement officer
3. A civilian assigned to a crime scene unit or traffic unit at a L.E. Agency
4. A prosecutor working for a State Attorney/District Attorney’s Office
5. An Investigator working for a State Attorney’s Office
6. A Doctor working at a Medical Examiner/Coroner’s Office
7. An Investigator at a Medical Examiner/Coroner’s Office
8. Active Duty or Reserve Military Personnel who are responsible for investigating or supervising or prosecuting criminal cases. This would include Investigators from the U.S. Armed Forces, Judge Advocate Generals (JAG’s), etc.
9. Police Legal Advisors
Fees:
$195 per student – Law Enforcement Agencies who host one of our training classes will automatically receive two free admissions to attend any of our training classes.
Dress:
Students attending our training classes should follow their department or agency Policies and Procedures Manual guidelines regarding authorized clothing and uniforms to wear while attending approved training classes. If law enforcement
personnel choose to wear civilian clothing to our training classes and they plan on being armed, we would respectfully request that you either keep your firearm concealed or if your firearm is exposed, please have your agency ID and/or a badge clearly visible at all times identifying you as law enforcement officer.
How to Register:
Visit our website at svpolicetraining.com and complete the registration form. All the various methods to pay for our classes are outlined on the website. If you have any questions, send us an email info@svpolicetraining.com and we will get back to you within 24 hours.
At Semper Veritas Police Training and Consulting, LLC., we take immense pride in doing everything that we can to give back to this noble profession that we have dedicated so much of our lives to and to help the next generation of brave warriors willing to do this heroic work so that their learning curve is much faster than ours was.