Posted on: Friday, May 6, 2005
Tests find crystal meth in two who died in custody
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
Two men who died last week after police responded to calls for help both tested positive for crystal methamphetamine, preliminary toxicology tests performed by the city medical examiner's office show.
"The cause of death is still deferred until we confirm the presence of those preliminary findings and conduct other studies as well as the investigation," said chief medical examiner Dr. Kanthi De Alwis.
Honolulu Police Capt. Frank Fujii said the department would wait to comment about the deaths until De Alwis had issued her official findings.
De Alwis said she is working to determine exactly when the individuals died and why. She said the toxicology results have been sent to a lab on the Mainland for confirmation.
If the final determination is that the two men were crystal-meth casualties, it will add to an already alarming spike in methamphetamine-related deaths in Honolulu.
Through April, 30 deaths have been listed as crystal methamphetamine-related — a broad category that includes everything from its immediate toxic effects to suicides and homicides committed by people using the drug.
Those deaths hit an all-time high of 67 last year, compared with 56 deaths in 2003.
Last spring, De Alwis made a connection to deaths once thought unrelated to the drug after she noticed an increase in strokes, heart attacks and bronchial asthma cases.
In February, De Alwis said attributing deaths to methamphetamine use although the victim dies from seemingly natural causes is now a cause-of-death standard recognized by the National Association of Medical Examiners, the organization that accredits the Honolulu medical examiner's office.
In addition to the medical examiner's investigation, Honolulu police have opened two internal-affairs investigations into the deaths of the men, who died within four days of each other last week.
Valatchi Milan, a 28-year-old 'Aiea man, and Ross Hose, a 41-year-old Makaha man, both died after police responded to calls for help.
Hose, a construction worker, became unruly while visiting a relative's home on Makau Street in Makaha on April 26.
Adeline Mercer said Hose tried to throw her television out of a window and was giving her son, Hose's cousin, a hard time. She said she was awakened by her son's calls for help.
Police were called. During the time police were at the home, paramedics also were called to the residence and responded three times between 3:45 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. They were sent away twice when police appeared to have the situation under control.
On the third visit, paramedics took Hose, who was in critical condition, to the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, where he was pronounced dead.
In the second case, police arrested Milan at his father's home on Mikalemi Street after he allegedly punched a firefighter who responded to a 7 p.m. medical call Friday at the home.
Milan had been having difficulty breathing, prompting the 911 call. The firefighter was not seriously injured.
Police took Milan to Castle Medical Center for mental observation. He died at 9:48 p.m.
Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.
