comedian fuquan johnson is among three dead from a 'fentanyl-laced cocaine overdose' at a '' la party
Comedian Fuquan Johnson and two others died while a comedian-model was rushed to hospital in critical condition this weekend from apparent overdoses of fentanyl-laced cocaine.
Johnson was 42-years-old.
The Los Angeles-based comic was among three people who were found dead at a party in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles early Saturday morning.
The other two victims have not been officially identified, while a fourth person who appeared to have also overdosed, believed to be comedian and model Kate Quigley, was transported to a hospital in critical condition, according to TMZ.
Johnson was a frequent performer on the Los Angeles comedy circuit, performing at various clubs around town for the last 10 years.
Quigley, who once dated Hootie & The Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker, has appeared in several television shows including The Office, Star Trek: Hidden Frontier, and Guber.
RIP: Comedian Fuquan Johnson, 42, died from an apparent overdose at a party in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles; he's pictured in May 2018
Johnson is seen last Sunday during an appearance at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles. It is believed to be the last time he was photographed alive
Kate Quigley and Fuquan Johnson are seen on May 15, 2018 in Los Angeles
Johnson on Thursday afternoon tweeted that he was 'so high I just tried to shampoo my body...'
Police were called to the party just after midnight and pronounced Johnson and the two others, who may have also been comedians, dead at the scene.
So far there's no update on Quigley's condition.
Investigators believe all four people ingested cocaine laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid similar to morphine that is 50 times more potent than heroin.
Autopsies are being performed on the three victims, which are currently at the Los Angeles Coroner's Office.
Johnson and Quigley are known to have been friends, and have been photographed together over the last few years.
At this point, it's unclear who supplied the drugs, and whether other people at the party also consumed the laced cocaine.
View this post on Instagram
Johnson was remembered by his friends as a warm, friendly person who would often smile
Johnson was a frequent performer on the Los Angeles comedy circuit, performing at various clubs around town for the last 10 years
His credits include an appearance on TRUTV’s Laff Mobb’s Laff Tracks as well as All Def Digital’s website in several web series
Last year, Johnson was a writer for the streaming show Comedy Parlour Live: Quarantine Edition
While LAPD is investigating, law enforcement sources told TMZ that the department's homicide unit have not been notified about this particular case.
Quigley had previously been romantically linked to Hootie & The Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker.
A representative of Rucker's confirmed to the publication that he was no longer dating Quigley.
They were reportedly going out for a good portion of 2020, but are no longer in an intimate relationship.
A fourth victim, found unconscious at the party, is believed to be comedian and model Kate Quigley; she was transported to a hospital in critical condition, according to TMZ
According to her bio, Quigley is a native of Canton, Ohio
She has appeared in several television shows including The Office, Star Trek: Hidden Frontier, and Guber
Her hosting credits include Playboy TV's Undercover and the 2016 AVN Awards, the show sponsored by the Adult Video News organization which covers the pornographic industry
Quigley was most recently seen on MTV's ADDTV
Old flames: Quigley, 39, had been romantically linked to Hootie & The Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker, but his representative told TMZ they no longer dated
News of Johnson’s death shocked his fans on Twitter.
‘Fuquan Johnson 4L (for life),’ tweeted Brian Moses. He added emojis showing a crown, a heart, and a sad emoji face.
Nick Alexander, a comedian, tweeted: ‘What can I say about @Mybadfuu.
‘You loved and lived lie on ya own terms. Never gave a damn what people thought about you cuz you were solid within yaself and a real Jerzey n***a.
‘We gonna miss you Fu.
‘Rest in Power Fuquan Johnson.
‘Hit em with Fu Facts in the afterlife!!’
Luke Barnett, a writer and producer, tweeted: ‘Very sad to hear about the passing of my buddy Fuquan Johnson.
‘Smiliest, happiest dude, and a local icon in the North Hollywood community, RIP.’
Barnett also tweeted a photo showing a shot glass of liquor that was served with a napkin at Nobar in North Hollywood. Johnson’s name was written on the napkin in tribute.
Johnny Taylor Jr, a stand-up comedian, tweeted: ‘Hey everybody, please stop doing cocaine. Please.
‘All it takes is the wrong batch or the wrong night or any combination of either.
‘RIP Fuquan Johnson and really pulling for Kate Quigley to pull through.’
Another Twitter user who goes by the handle ‘Miranda’ tweeted: ‘What the f*** is happening...rest in peace fuquan johnson.’
Luke Barnett, a writer and producer, tweeted: ‘Very sad to hear about the passing of my buddy Fuquan Johnson. Smiliest, happiest dude, and a local icon in the North Hollywood community, RIP.’
Barnett also tweeted a photo showing a shot glass of liquor that was served with a napkin at Nobar in North Hollywood. Johnson’s name was written on the napkin in tribute
‘Fuquan Johnson 4L (for life),’ tweeted Brian Moses. He added emojis showing a crown, a heart, and a sad emoji face
Nick Alexander, a comedian, tweeted: ‘What can I say about @Mybadfuu. You loved and lived lie on ya own terms. Never gave a damn what people thought about you cuz you were solid within yaself and a real Jerzey n***a. We gonna miss you Fu. Rest in Power Fuquan Johnson. Hit em with Fu Facts in the afterlife!!’
Another Twitter user who goes by the handle ‘Miranda’ tweeted: ‘What the f*** is happening...rest in peace fuquan johnson’
Another Twitter user wrote: 'Bruh Fuquan Johnson gone too???? Man this is too much.'
Mario Salazar, a stand-up comedian, tweeted: 'Fentanyl is an evil monster. RIP Fuquan Johnson and god strength to Kate Quigley!! What an absolutely heartbreaking story. It's so grim when the world loses funny people!! Comedians let's please be careful out there.'
Another Twitter user wrote: 'Bruh Fuquan Johnson gone too???? Man this is too much.'
Mario Salazar, a stand-up comedian, tweeted: 'Fentanyl is an evil monster.
'RIP Fuquan Johnson and god strength to Kate Quigley!! What an absolutely heartbreaking story.
'It's so grim when the world loses funny people!! Comedians let's please be careful out there.'
Twitter users also paid tribute to Quigley.
Adrienne Airhart tweeted: 'I just heard about Kate Quigley being in hospital. Not religious, but I am for sure praying for her right now.
'Pull through, babe.'
Another Twitter user wrote: 'Please let Kate Quigley be ok! She is a funny and talented comedian! Let her be ok!!'
‘You got this Kate, stay strong, we love you,’ tweeted That Doge Girl.
Twitter users also paid tribute to Quigley
Another Twitter user wrote: 'Please let Kate Quigley be ok! She is a funny and talented comedian! Let her be ok!!'
‘You got this Kate, stay strong, we love you,’ tweeted That Doge Girl
Adrienne Airhart tweeted: 'I just heard about Kate Quigley being in hospital. Not religious, but I am for sure praying for her right now. Pull through, babe.'
Johnny Taylor Jr, a stand-up comedian, tweeted: ‘Hey everybody, please stop doing cocaine. Please. All it takes is the wrong batch or the wrong night or any combination of either. RIP Fuquan Johnson and really pulling for Kate Quigley to pull through’
'Man I know I'm speaking into the void...but I really hope Kate Quigley pulls thru,' another Twitter user commented
'Man I know I'm speaking into the void...but I really hope Kate Quigley pulls thru,' another Twitter user commented.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 83,000 people lost their lives to drug-related overdoses in the 12-month period ending in July 2020, a significant increase from 2019, when more than 70,000 people died of overdoses.
The preliminary data also indicated there was a 26 percent increase in the number of cocaine-related overdose deaths, with fentanyl being the most likely driver of these fatalities.
Death counts through May 2020 suggest an acceleration of overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.
That estimate far eclipses the high of about 72,000 drug overdose deaths reached the previous year and amounts to a 29 percent increase.
While prescription painkillers once drove the nation's overdose epidemic, they were supplanted first by heroin and then by fentanyl, a dangerously powerful opioid, in recent years.
Fentanyl was developed to treat intense pain from ailments like cancer but has increasingly been sold illicitly and mixed with other drugs.
Fentanyl was involved in more than 60 percent of the overdose deaths last year, CDC data suggests.
Last week, six residents on Long Island died from what authorities said were overdoses of fentanyl-laced cocaine.
The victims, who ranged in age from 25 to 40, died between August 11 and August 13 and were from towns on the North Fork in Suffolk County.
Nicole Elizabeth Eckardt, 34, of Greenport Village, was among six Long Island residents who died from a cocaine overdoes that was laced with fentanyl last week
Seth Tramontana , 27, and Swainson Brown, 40, were two of six individuals to die from fentanyl-related overdoses
Southold locals, Fausto Rafael Herrera Campos and Navid Ahmadzadeh also died from a fentanyl-related overdose in Suffolk County
White House pushes to make fentanyl a Schedule 1 drug
The Biden administration says fentanyl-related substances should be permanently classified as a Schedule 1 drug, but without mandatory minimum sentences
The Biden administration announced Thursday that it had recommended to Congress that fentanyl-related substances be permanently classified as a Schedule 1 drug, as drug overdoses in the nation soar.
But the new policy would exclude the drugs from most instances of quantity-based mandatory minimum penalties, which civil rights groups had warned could exacerbate racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
'By acting on these recommendations, Congress can take decisive action against the fastest growing driver of overdoses in the country, while protecting civil rights and encouraging scientific research,' Regina LaBelle, the acting director of National Drug Control Policy, said Thursday in a statement.
In July, the White House released data that showed a record 93,000 overdose deaths in 2020, with the fastest driver of this trend being synthetic fentanyl.
In February 2018, during the Trump administration, the Department of Justice issued a rule temporarily making fentanyl analogues Schedule 1 drugs.
Biden extended it through late October earlier this year.
Neither Republicans nor critics of the War on Drugs were happy with the compromise announced Thursday.
Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, argued that by scrapping mandatory minimum sentences the administration was being too soft on criminals.
'Fentanyl analogues kill thousands of Americans each year. To protect our communities from the dealers pushing this poison, President Biden needs to keep them off the streets, not let them off the hook,' Cotton told Fox News, which first reported the fentanyl development.
The policy would allow mandatory minimums to be used in sentencing 'for cases where death or serious bodily injury can be directly linked to the FRS that was trafficked,' the policy announcement said.
Later Thursday afternoon, former Trump aide Stephen Miller tweeted, 'Open border + leniency for fentanyl trafficking.'
'Is Biden at this point just trying to do as much damage as he can?' Miller mused.
Republicans have linked the border surge under Biden with the uptick in overdoses.
In April alone there was a 233 per cent increase in fentanyl seizures on the U.S.-Mexico border, Fox News reported.
They were: Fausto Rafael Herrera Campos, 25, and Navid Ahmadzadeh, 30, of Southold; Seth Tramontana, 27, and Nicole Elizabeth Eckardt, 34, of Greenport Village; and Matthew Lapiana, 32, and Swainson Brown, 40.
Police arrested Lavain Creighton, 51, and Justin Smith, 46, a few days after the overdoses. Creighton was charged with several counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, while Smith was charged with possessing drugs and drug paraphernalia.
Anthony Scheller, Smith's lawyer, told The New York Times his client did not sell the drugs.
'He feels terrible for those people,' Scheller said. 'But he had no involvement.'
That was little solace to one of the victim's parents.
'They poisoned them to make money,' said Seth Tramontana's father, whose name is also Seth.'
'You can say he made his choice and did what he was doing to have fun — but this is not what he asked for,' his father said.
Police said the deceased were not heavy drug users, but recreational users instead.
Ahmadzadeh worked in jewelrymaking and sales in the diamond district of Manhattan, Brown was a chef, and Lapiana was a landscaper who always answered the phone with a joke.
The Southold Police said in addition to the six deceased, several other individuals also overdosed on fentanyl-laced cocaine between August 11 and August 13.
Those individuals were resuscitated with naloxone, or Narcan, a medication designed to immediately reverse an opioid.
The way naloxone works is it blocks the brain’s opioid receptors and restores normal breathing in individuals who overdosed on fentanyl, heroin or prescription painkillers.
Police and prosecutors believe the recent overdoses highlight a threatening shift in the street-drug marketplace, created by the same pandemic-linked issues affecting global supply chains and hiking up prices.
'The same market forces that are causing shortages in everyday products are also putting pressures on the drug markets,' said Timothy D. Sini, the Suffolk County district attorney. 'All the while we have seen demand skyrocketing from users because of the impact the pandemic has had on them.'
In the beginning of Summer, c ocaine laced with fentanyl was reportedly wrecking havoc on New York City's club scene, as young revelers returned to nightlife venues forced shut during the pandemic.
In spring, reports online indicated that at least two people suffered fatal overdoses from the tainted drug supply found in the Bushwick and Williamsburg sections of Brooklyn, as well as in the Ridgewood neighborhood of Queens.
The most recent statistics released by the NYPD in April indicate that eight percent of the city's cocaine supply is laced with fentanyl, according to WNYC/Gothamist .
That amounts to almost one out of every 10 bags of cocaine sold on the street.
Five years ago, just two percent of the cocaine seized by the NYPD had traces of the dangerous opioid.
Like morphine, fentanyl is an opioid often used to treat severe pain after surgery, and is one of the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths throughout the United States.
It is typically mixed with heroin and/or cocaine - with or without the user’s consent—to increase its euphoric effects.
Cocaine overdoses tied to fentanyl aren't solely constricted to the East Coast.
According to San Francisco's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner , the Bay Area suffered nearly three times as many deaths from fentanyl overdoses than COVID-19 in 2020.
Statistics show 708 people were killed by fentanyl in 2020, a 173 per cent increase since 2018. That figure also dwarfs the 254 COVID-19-related deaths recorded in the city for the whole of 2020.
San Francisco's death rate from fentanyl is rising in 2021: 135 died by overdose in January and February in San Francisco, on pace for more than 800 deaths by the end of the year.
An officer from the US Customs and Border Protection, Trade and Cargo Division finds Oxycodon pills in a parcel at John F. Kennedy Airport's US Postal Service facility on June 24, 2019 in New York
In August, the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department in Nebraska also issued their own warning, after 26 overdoses linked to fentanyl-laced cocaine occurred within three weeks.
'LPD investigations have uncovered that narcotics such as cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and counterfeit oxycodone pills have been found to contain the prescription pain killer fentanyl. When mixed with an illegal drug, an amount of fentanyl as small as a grain of salt can cause an overdose,' the warning stated.