Drug OD cluster on the South Side leaves 3 men dead
6 found in apartment building, 1 nearby
Three men died and another four were hospitalized early Sunday from apparent drug overdoses on Pittsburgh’s South Side.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office late Sunday released the names of the three victims who died: Rubiel Clemente-Martinez, 32, of Columbus, Ohio; Josue Soberal Serrano, 38, of Carthage, Mo.; and Joel Pecina, 32, of Coraopolis.
Mr. Clemente-Martinez was found in the lobby area of the Southside Works City Club Apartments in the 2600 block of Tunnel Boulevard.
Both Mr. Serrano and Mr. Pecina were found inside the residence.
Six of the seven victims were found inside the building and another was found at an intersection two blocks away.
The four surviving victims were hospitalized at UPMC Mercy. One was in critical condition. The other three were upgraded to stable.
Police have not specified which drug or drugs were involved but said the incident was isolated to one location.
Initially investigators asked the public for help identifying where the men received orange wristbands that all the men were found wearing.
After learning that multiple venues throughout the city had issued orange wristbands Saturday night, police said their initial investigation gleaned that the men used the drugs in a separate location from any large venue.
“We have information that there was a party last night, some people were invited to an after party and that’s potentially where the drugs were passed around. Right now, that’s the theory we’re working off of, and I can’t offer any other information beyond that,” said Jason Lando,
commander of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police’s narcotics and vice division.
The deadly incident began at 3:20 a.m. when police responded to a man overdosing at the intersection of 26th and East Carson streets. Paramedics took him to Mercy hospital in serious-to-critical condition.
At 4:01 a.m., police responded to a call for an unresponsive man in an elevator at the apartment building. Paramedics tried but could not revive him.
Police then entered an apartment at 5:38 a.m., where they found two men dead and three showing drug overdose symptoms.
It’s unclear how police were alerted to the specific apartment unit.
“We do not believe this particular incident is going to be widespread, so we are not in a situation where we expect people to be found in an overdosed state all over the city,” Cmdr. Lando said. “... but that doesn’t mean that there’s not some bad drugs going around elsewhere. We have nothing to point us in that direction right now, but I think the important message is just don’t do drugs. You don’t know what you’re putting in your body.”
Police have “no indication” that the party took place inside the apartment building, Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said.
Pittsburgh officials found no threat to the other residents after checking the building’s air quality and bringing in a drug-sniffing dog, Mr. Hissrich said.
Marked and unmarked police and detective cars lined the street outside the building Sunday morning.
The two deceased victims’ bodies were removed by a forensics investigations team just before 9:30 a.m.
Detectives spent Sunday interviewing the surviving victims.
None of the men were tenants of the apartment but were “acquaintances of a good-standing resident, who apparently was not in the apartment at the time the individuals were found,” according to a statement released by a public relations firm representing Southside Works City Apartments LLC.
The statement added: “It is our understanding that the group had attended an outside event where they may have consumed a toxic substance before returning to the apartment. … We express our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the affected individuals and send our thoughts and prayers to those who were transported to the hospital.”
Mark Winters, a company spokesman, said access to the building is keyless and residents wave a key fob to gain entry.
He said he didn’t know how the men were able to enter the building and the resident’s apartment.
“But when they arrived, the resident wasn’t there,” he said.
The company’s owner mailing address is based in Southfield, Mich., according to Allegheny County property records. The building contains more than 40 units and is valued at $25.8 million. Rent ranges from $1,155 to $2,490, according to the company’s website.
Cmdr. Lando said the identification of drugs that caused the overdoses will not be available until the Allegheny County Medical Examiner determines toxicology results.
The case is still a “very active investigation,” he said.