3 WHO LET HEROIN USER DIE FACE NEGLIGENCE CHARGES

ORLANDO -- Three people who failed to seek help for their
friend as he died slowly of a heroin overdose were charged with
manslaughter by culpable negligence.

Two of 29-year-old Andrew Domanico's friends played video games as he
died March 12, homicide investigators said Tuesday.

Charged in the death were Sarah David, 23, his fiancee; Patrick
Mehegan, 23; and Michael Posey, 27; all from Orange County. If
convicted, they could face up to five years in prison.

"The whole thing shocks the conscience," said Detective Chuck Deisler
of the Orange County Sheriff's Office. "It's unbelievable stuff."

There was overwhelming evidence that Domanico's life could have been
saved had his friends called 911 during the 13 hours between the time
he inhaled brown powder believed to be heroin and when he died,
investigators said. Overdose victims routinely recover when paramedics
are summoned to treat them with Narcan, a heroin antidote.

When Domanico collapsed after inhaling the heroin around 6:30 a.m.,
his friends let him sit unconscious on a toilet in the apartment.
David collected the brown powder and flushed it down another toilet,
detectives said.

Two hours later, after trying to make Domanico comfortable, David left
for her new job, according to investigators.

"He was breathing. I didn't know what else to do . . . Do you want me
to lose my job?" David told deputies. "He looked fine. He was
breathing. He just seemed like he was kind of messed up."

Domanico, who had a history of drug arrests, sat on the toilet until
midafternoon. David called home every hour to ask Mehegan whether her
fiance was improving, according to sheriff's office reports.

Posey dropped by at 3 p.m. and helped carry Domanico to a bed,
according to sheriff's office reports. Posey and Mehegan spent the
rest of the afternoon playing video games and checking in on their
friend every 10 to 15 minutes.

David returned by early evening.

The friends finally called 911 at 7:16 p.m. and an ambulance reached
the apartment within five minutes. Domanico was pronounced dead at
8:07 p.m. at Florida Hospital.

It was the first time such charges have been filed in the Orlando area
after more than 130 heroin-related deaths during the past five years.
The only people traditionally charged in drug deaths were people who
supplied the fatal drug dose.