Fatal overdose leads to arrest of alleged drug trafficker
A Philadelphia man has waived his preliminary hearing on charges he allegedly trafficked heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine in Montgomery County, an investigation that began after the fatal overdose of an Abington man.
Edwin V. Rodriguez, 37, of the 200 block of Benner Street, must answer to charges in county court of possession with intent to deliver heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal use of a communication facility in connection with incidents that occurred in April.
District Court Judge Gregory Scott previously set Rodriguez’s bail at $250,000 cash. Rodriguez was unable to post bail and was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility to await a pretrial hearing in county court later this year.
While the investigation of Rodriguez began
after the April 13 fatal overdose of 36-year-old Patrick J. Cumiskey, of Abington, who allegedly purchased illegal drugs from Rodriguez, authorities did not charge Rodriguez with drug delivery resulting in death.
“In the last four years, we have investigated more than 450 overdose deaths, looking to connect the dealer who sold the drugs that caused someone’s death. In a number of these cases, we have charged the dealer with drug delivery resulting in death, but in some cases, due to multiple drugs in the victim’s body, we were unable to sustain that charge,” county District Attorney Kevin R. Steele explained on Friday. “However, Mr. Cumiskey’s death led us to
a significant drug trafficker, who is now facing multiple serious felonies and serious jail time.”
A joint investigation was conducted by county detectives and Abington and Philadelphia police.
Abington police and Second Alarmers Rescue Squad responded to Cumiskey’s Longstreth Avenue home at 5:31 p.m., April 13 for a report of a drug overdose, according to the arrest affidavit. Authorities found Cumiskey unresponsive in a bedroom and Cumiskey could not be revived and was pronounced dead.
Investigators learned that Cumiskey was a longtime opiate user and had been using heroin, according to court documents.
An autopsy determined Cumiskey’s cause of death “was from a combined drug intoxication of oxycodone, doxylamine and fentanyl,”
according to the criminal complaint.
The investigation revealed that Rodriguez was one of Cumiskey’s sources of supply for drugs, detectives alleged.
“Throughout the investigation, detectives analyzed the contents of the cellular phone of the victim and located recent communication between Rodriguez and the victim consistent with a meeting between the two subjects several hours before Cumiskey’s death. … Police recovered surveillance video of a meeting between Rodriguez and Cumiskey on April 13, 2020,” detectives alleged in the criminal complaint.
Detectives, according to court papers, conducted surveillance of Rodriguez and used cellphone data to uncover multiple drug transactions during which
Rodriguez allegedly sold drugs to individuals before and after Cumiskey’s death.
On April 21, armed with warrants, detectives searched Rodriguez’s residence and vehicle and uncovered approximately 555 baggies of fentanyl/heroin, 120 vials of methamphetamine, 80 grams of crack cocaine, two pounds of marijuana and multiple pills, authorities alleged. Two firearms, ammunition, a variety of drug packaging materials and $7,994 cash also were seized, officials said.
Detectives alleged they interviewed multiple subjects who admitted “to being drug customers of Rodriguez,” according to the criminal complaint. One of those subjects admitted to notifying Rodriguez about Cumiskey’s death, according to the arrest affidavit.
“We need to make sure that those suffering from substance use disorder get the help they need. At the same time, we are committed to continuing to investigate and arrest these dealers who are profiting by selling these deadly drugs,”
Steele said. “We hope and pray our efforts will limit the number of people getting addicted to these drugs and the deaths being caused by them. Too many families are suffering from the loss of loved ones. It’s got to stop.”