NO-CONTEST PLEA IN PARTY-DRUG DEATH

Man Gave Woman GHB; She Overdosed On It

A 33-year-old San Jose man pleaded no contest Wednesday to involuntary
manslaughter in connection with the death of a young woman who
overdosed on GHB -- a designer drug often associated with rave parties.

Victor Pelayo also pleaded no contest to furnishing a controlled
substance, during the brief appearance before Judge Thomas Hastings.
Hastings is scheduled to sentence Pelayo on Nov. 17.

Genevieve Squires, 32, died in Pelayo's home Sept. 22. Pelayo and
Squires met through a mutual friend only hours before at a Los Gatos
nightclub and returned to his place with another couple to party, said
Deputy District Attorney Tom Farris.

Scott Seabaugh, Pelayo's lawyer, said that Squires ingested the drug
voluntarily and that Pelayo's culpability was ``indirect if at all.''

Pelayo told police he purchased the GHB -- also known by some on the
street as liquid ``ecstasy'' -- for $100 the week before in San
Francisco and was unaware Squires had taken enough to be harmful.

Had he known, he would have made her purge herself, Pelayo
said.

``No doubt the friends and family (of Squires) have suffered a
significant loss. We have sympathy for this young lady,'' Seabaugh
said.

Farris said Pelayo could receive a maximum term of five years in
prison. Seabaugh said he plans to request probation for his client.

GHB -- sometimes called the ``date rape'' drug -- has been linked to
at least 58 deaths since 1990 and more than 5,700 recorded overdoses,
said the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Contact Bill Romano at bromano@sjmercury.com or (408) 295-3983.