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Police have arrested a 15-year-old drug dealer and an accomplice in connection with death from an overdose at a Hollywood high school where the hit TV show Glee was filmed.
The teenage dealer from Academic Performance Excellence Academy was arrested Thursday after student Melanie Ramos, 15, died and others overdosed at the school next door on Tuesday, Helen Bernstein High School.
LAPD Police Chief Michael Moore said the suspect is facing charges of manslaughter after selling pills laced with fentanyl and advertising it as Percocet, a painkiller.
“It’s common in the illicit pill market today to use fentanyl to boost or fortify a drug,” Moore said at a news conference. “Normally and often these result in overdoses due to the abundance of fentanyl and its potent nature.”
Ramos and another girl allegedly bought the pills from a dealer in Lexington Park before hitting, sniffing and passing out on the school’s toilet floor, police said.
An hour later, a girl woke up to find her stepfather on campus looking for her.
Meanwhile, Ramos was dead.
The unidentified drug dealer was arrested at an apartment on Eleanor Ave in Hollywood. Police found more drugs on him when he was arrested.
Melanie Ramos, 15, died Tuesday after overdosing on a fentanyl pill she bought from a drug dealer
Ramos was found unconscious in a restroom at Bernstein High School. She was with a friend when they both passed out after taking the drug
The unidentified drug dealer was arrested at an apartment on Hollywood’s Eleanor Ave
Candles were lit on the steps of Bernstein High School after Ramos’s death
Ramos’s friend had to regain consciousness after an hour – but Ramos was already dead
While the two teenage girls passed out in their Hollywood school restroom on Tuesday, their parents reported them missing after failing to return home. fox11.
The second girl’s stepfather was driving around the school looking for his daughter when he found her unconscious in the school’s courtyard around 8 p.m.
“She was very sick,” Los Angeles Police Department Lieutenant Commander John Radke told Fox11. “She had been the victim of an overdose. She could communicate with him and let him know that her boyfriend was in the women’s room.”
A school employee was immediately contacted and they found Ramos unresponsive on the floor. Paramedics arrived on the scene and pronounced her dead.
Gladys Manriques, a relative of Ramos, is furious that the school didn’t make sure all students were out of the building after the final bell.
“We have mixed feelings – angry, sad. We want answers,’ Manriques said. ‘Why was she found so late? For me the school could have cleaned up better in a way, [to] make sure all children do not go to school. I’m pretty sure that’s protocol.’
Ramos’ loved ones have set up a GoFundMe to help support her family.
“Unfortunately, Melanie’s life has been cut too short,” reads the GoFundMe. September 13, 2022 was her last day on Earth. I humbly ask for donations to help the family in times of need.”
The conclusion was: ‘We ask that you please keep an eye on who your children interact with and how they influence our children.’
Ramos’ family is furious that the school staff took too long to find her. She was found after 8pm on Tuesday after her boyfriend was able to reconnect with her stepfather – who was searching the school
Ramos’ girlfriend was found collapsed in the school yard after she was able to get out of the toilet. She told her stepfather that Ramos was still in the toilet cubicle
The teens bought the drugs in Lexington Park – near the school campus
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin, was the leading cause of drug deaths in 2021
Along with the 15-year-old dealer, another Academic Performance Excellence Academy boy, 16, was also arrested for allegedly selling narcotics in Lexington Park, causing several overdoses with three people still in hospital.
A 17-year-old boy who attended Hollywood High School was also taken to hospital on Tuesday after purchasing drugs at the same location as the two others. Another victim was also identified, but it’s unclear if that person is a student.
Tuesday’s three victims are just some of the recent student drug incidents related to Lexington Park, according to Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
The school district released a statement Wednesday informing students of Ramos’ death.
“Last evening, Los Angeles Unified learned that a student has died on the campus of Helen Bernstein High School. Another student was transported to a local hospital with their parents.
“We are working with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the lead agency on this ongoing investigation, and at this time and due to confidentiality issues, we have no further information to share.”
The school district said grief counselors would be on campus to support students and staff.
“As we work with LAPD to bring to light the details of this tragic situation, our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of both students,” the statement concluded.
The school district issued a statement to students and staff on Tuesday regarding the death of Ramos while promoting grief counseling
LAPD chief Michael Moore said police will investigate Ramos’ death outside teen drug dealers and seek source
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said there was ‘no tolerance for this evil’
Chief Moore said the investigation goes beyond the arrest of the two teenage boys as police search for the distributors.
“Our work doesn’t stop because these two individuals, aged 15 and 16, are just transferring and running this distribution,” Moore said.
‘There is a drug organization behind this. We will determine who is supplying these drugs to these two individuals and I look forward to pursuing them aggressively as the process does not end here.”
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti echoed Moore’s mission, claiming there was “no tolerance for this evil.”
“These people who are poisoned. These are murders,’ said Garcetti. “We’re not just interested in the ultimate distributors of the pills that spread this death. We want to increase that chain.’
He continued: ‘To the parents affected by this tragedy, we wrap our arms of love around you and our hearts break with you. We have no tolerance for this evil. Anyone involved in the distribution of this, the manufacturing of this, those who allow the dealers to make this happen, this is not going to end well for you.”
Overdose deaths in the US have been rising for more than two decades in most years. The increase began in the 1990s with opioid painkiller overdoses, followed by waves of deaths led by other opioids such as heroin and – most recently – illicit fentanyl.
The school, the original filming location of the popular Fox show “Glee,” remained open Wednesday, with bereavement counselors on site for staff and students.
More than 70,000 Americans have died from fentanyl in the past year, according to the CDC, up from 13,000 in 2020.
By 2021, the number of overdoses in the US exceeded 100,000.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin, was the leading cause of death from drugs in 2021.
Percocet is a prescription drug that contains oxycodone, a narcotic, and acetaminophen, a pain reliever in Tylenol.