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Redondo Beach man charged in connection with fatal Fentanyl overdose
Los Angeles Sep 13, 2021
Photo courtesy of particle-wave, Flickr (CC BY-NS-ND 2.0)
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A federal grand jury indictment unsealed Monday charges a Redondo Beach man who allegedly sold counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl that caused a fatal opioid overdose.
Marcus Michael Takaya Poydras, 32, a dual U.S. and Japanese citizen, was arrested Thursday by agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration. The following day, a United States magistrate judge ordered Poydras held without bond pending trial, which is set for Nov. 2 in downtown Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The five-count indictment that led to Poydras’ arrest charges him with one count each of distributing fentanyl resulting in death, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and two counts of possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. The five charges relate to three incidents.
In the first incident, Poydras allegedly sold counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl to another drug dealer. After the Jan. 22, 2020, transaction, the second drug dealer distributed the counterfeit pills to a 43-year-old man who later suffered a fatal fentanyl overdose at his Marina del Rey residence.
As part of the investigation into the overdose death, DEA agents and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department executed a federal search warrant at Poydras’ residence on July 14, 2020, and, according to the indictment, seized cocaine and a .38-caliber revolver with an obliterated serial number.
In the third incident alleged in the indictment, Redondo Beach Police Department officers arrested Poydras on Jan. 17, 2021, and recovered several suspected controlled substances, including counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. At the time, Poydras was allegedly carrying a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun.
The charge of drug distribution resulting in death carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Additionally, each firearm charge carries a consecutive mandatory minimum of five years apiece. Thus, if convicted, Poydras would face a mandatory minimum of 30 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
