FRIENDS WON'T BE TRIED IN FATAL OD

A timely call to 911 might have saved Andrew Domanico's life. But his
fiancee and two friends won't stand trial for doing nothing during the 13
hours it took Domanico to die.

Prosecutors in Orlando have dropped charges against the trio after studying
the March 12 drug overdose for more than a month.

They concluded that Orange County sheriff's detectives could not show that
Sarah David, 23, and her friends had a duty to call 911 and failed to act.
Nor could detectives show that the friends knew Domanico, 29, was dying.

"We looked at case law from around the nation. It's a very tragic case, but
the way the law is written, you cannot charge somebody unless they have a
duty," said Randy Means, spokesman for State Attorney Lawson Lamar.

"It's very difficult and complicated to prove."

The arrests last winter were a first for Central Florida after more than
130 heroin-related deaths since 1995. Parents of overdose victims had
applauded the sheriff's action as long overdue.

Sometimes, friends of victims had destroyed evidence rather than call 911.
Other bystanders were too frightened or too stoned to call for help. And
some victims were abandoned where they collapsed.

But in cases where help was called, scores of people who overdosed and were
nearly dead have been revived by paramedics.

Friday's decision to drop the case saddened grieving relatives of heroin
victims who had hoped prosecutors would send a strong message.

"I just feel they need to be held accountable," said Tinker Cooper of
Orlando. "It would be a deterrent for sure."

Cooper's son, Joseph Stephens, 26, died of a heroin overdose in January
1996. The death came about a half-hour after paramedics revived one of his
friends, who also had overdosed. But when Stephens collapsed in the same
apartment, no one called 911.

His mother now heads a support group, Families Against Drugs, for the
families and friends of drug victims. The 30 members work closely with the
Orange County sheriff's drug squad and are developing ties with the Brevard
County Sheriff's Office.

Four members wrote Lamar to support prosecution in Domanico's death. They
don't believe Domanico's friends, who said they didn't know he was dying.

"How much more obvious could it have been -- he was turning blue," said
Cooper, who intends to lobby the Legislature to make it a crime to overlook
the ethical and moral responsibility to render aid.

"Drop someone in front of an emergency room . . . or call 911, but do
something."

Domanico was left sitting on a toilet for eight hours after he was found
incoherent, even semiconscious, in his bathroom. Then he was moved to a
bedroom, where he stayed four hours before someone called 911, according to
sheriff's records.

During that time, David disposed of a powder found on the sink next to
Domanico, according to sheriff's records. She then went to work at a new
job while roommate Patrick Mehegan, 23, called in sick to stay home with
Domanico, detectives said.

About 3 p.m., friend Michael Posey, 27, visited the apartment at 4414
Hector Court and helped carry Domanico to the bed, detectives said. At
least one of them played video games in the next room while Domanico slowly
died, the investigators found. Autopsy results showed later that he died
from a mixture of heroin and other drugs.

The lengthy delay, in particular, had convinced detectives they had a
strong case for manslaughter by culpable negligence. The fiancee and the
two friends were arrested in late March.

Sgt. Ron Corlew, head of the homicide unit, said his detectives reasoned
that the trio became responsible for Domanico when they forced their way
into the bathroom and, later, tried to wake Domanico.

"If they had just looked in the door and walked on by we wouldn't have
charged them," Corlew said. "What I find amazing about this is all three of
these people expected us to come knocking on their doors. They were not at
all surprised. Every one of them had a lawyer."

David's attorney, Timothy A. Berry of Orlando, said the case would have
been dismissed in court if Lamar had not dropped the charges. "That was a
courageous decision in this day and time," he said.

Berry learned of Lamar's decision Friday afternoon. He immediately called
David, who continues to grieve over Domanico's death, he said.

"It devastated her. She was in a serious relationship with this fellow . .
. and then, to be arrested, it just took the breath out of her. The poor
kid was overwhelmed," Berry said. "I think she just thought he was sleeping
something off. She certainly didn't realize it was an overdose of heroin."

Heroin has contributed to the deaths of at least eight other Central
Floridians this year. Autopsy results in at least eight other possible
heroin-related deaths are pending.