POLICE - SUSPECT'S CHANGE OF MIND CAME TOO LATE

Within an hour of swallowing a lethal amount of methamphetamine and
repeatedly refusing medical help, Willie Villalpando changed his mind,
police revealed Thursday.

The 20-year-old Milpitas man, who ingested the drug Tuesday afternoon after
being pulled over by narcotics agents, agreed to take a charcoal powder to
try to absorb the drugs before too much had reached his bloodstream,
according to San Jose police.

His consent was apparently too late.

Villalpando died at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center nearly eight hours
after the ordeal began, when more than a dozen officers pulled him over for
alleged drug activity conducted out of a Milpitas apartment he shared with
his girlfriend, 2-month-old son and two stepchildren.

Villalpando's death raised questions about whether the hospital and police
did enough to save him. Without a patient's consent to be treated, there is
little health-care providers can do. But in certain life-threatening
emergencies, medical ethics experts say, doctors can override a patient if
they determine the patient can't make an informed decision.

On Wednesday, police would say only that Villalpando had repeatedly refused
treatment. They refused to give any further details and did not say that
Villalpando had eventually asked for treatment. On Thursday, a San Jose
police spokeswoman confirmed information obtained by the Mercury News that
Villalpando had changed his mind. Citing patient confidentiality
requirements, Valley Medical Center will not comment about the case.

For the first 30 to 40 minutes after he was admitted into the emergency
room, doctors apparently refrained from treating Villalpando because he
refused their help.

"Over and over again, officers told him that he could die if he continued
to refuse medical help, and he still refused," said San Jose police
spokeswoman Catherine Unger.

Then he started to show major symptoms from what police believe was a
half-ounce of methamphetamine, Unger said. Five minutes later, he accepted
medical help. A source said doctors attempted at least three methods to
flush the drugs.

By the time someone complains of symptoms, chances are that some of the
drug has already reached the bloodstream, and the likelihood of death
depends on the dosage, said Dr. Tad Hurst, chairman of emergency medicine
at Valley Medical Center, who wouldn't speak specifically about
Villalpando's case.

It all started Tuesday afternoon when, police say, they surrounded
Villalpando's car and an officer saw him shove something into his mouth.

Villalpando eventually admitted he had eaten methamphetamine, police said,
and officers started driving him to Valley Medical Center eight minutes
after the 1:32 p.m. traffic stop.

At the hospital, Villalpando told police: "I know I'll get a long time in
jail. I'm going to ride this out."

An increased heart rate is one of the first symptoms, with some patients
complaining that it feels like their heart is beating out of their chest.
They are agitated and nervous.

Body temperatures will rise as high as 109 degrees, which causes liver and
brain damage. Patients can also experience a heart attack or stroke.

Doctors can try to cool down and comfort a person who has overdosed on
methamphetamine and control the high pulse and high blood pressure, but
there is no antidote to counteract the drugs, Hurst said.

The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner's Office is running toxicology
tests to determine exactly what killed Villalpando. If he swallowed a
half-ounce of methamphetamine, "you have there enough meth for about 20
people" to get high, said Drug Enforcement Administration special agent
Richard Meyer.

A hospital spokesman said that in cases when patients refuse treatment,
doctors have to establish whether they are competent. They also explain
what the medical consequences could be.

A hospital committee will review the case to make sure all procedures were
followed, said Valley Medical spokesman Matt Schenone.

All along, Villalpando's family members have said they didn't believe
Villalpando would have refused treatment. They said they thought the police
were negligent in not getting him to the hospital fast enough.

On Thursday, family members declined to comment.