LOS ANGELES — In 2019, Brandon McDowell was approached by a sophomore looking to purchase Percocet, a prescription painkiller.
What the 20-year-old sold her instead were counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that can kill in doses as low as 2 milligrams. Hours later, Alexandra Capelouto, also 20, was dead in her Temecula, California, home.
It’s an increasingly common scenario as fentanyl overdoses have become a growing problem. leading cause of death for minors in the past five years, with more than 74,000 people dying in the US from a synthetic opioid in 2023, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
McDowell has been in prison since 2022 on a conviction for fentanyl possession. But the Capeloutos have now won an additional $5.8 million in damages against him for the death of their daughter.
“We won the battle, but not the war,” said Matt Capelouto, Alexandra’s father. “We still have a long way to go in holding drug dealers accountable for deaths.”
According to Baruch Cohen, the Capelouto family’s attorney, this is the first time a drug dealer has been held civilly liable for someone’s death.
“Here’s hoping that this verdict will be the shot that’s heard around the world, so to speak,” Cohen said. “Because if it prevents another drug deal from happening, where the drug dealer … realizes that in addition to the prison sentence, he’s liable for millions of dollars in damages, maybe he’ll think twice.”
McDowell, now 25, first pleaded guilty in 2022 in federal court in California to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, a charge that carries a minimum sentence of 20 years if it results in death or serious injury and is convicted by a jury. McDowell was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Alexandra’s father, Matt Capelouto, didn’t think that was enough. He and his wife, who was also diagnosed with stage four breast cancer that year and has been battling it ever since, decided to sue McDowell for wrongful death.
“To take someone’s life, that was not a fair punishment,” he said. “I would use any means necessary to make sure that justice was done.”
While McDowell filed for bankruptcy, the Capeloutos won a judgment of approximately $5 million against him. The Superior Court of Riverside County ruled that he sold harmful narcotics with “willful and malicious” intent that led to the death of Alexandra Capelouto. A few months later, the Capeloutos filed another case in federal bankruptcy court to ensure that McDowell could not escape his debt under bankruptcy.
“Bankruptcy is for honest debtors, not corrupt criminal debtors,” Cohen said. “This verdict will follow him for the rest of his life, and if he makes money, we will foreclose on it. If he buys real estate, we will put a lien on it.”
Judge Mark Houle ruled in favor of the Capeloutos and ordered Brandon McDowell to pay $5.8 million in damages, including one and a half years of interest on top of the original $5 million.
Since his daughter’s death, Matt Capelouto has founded the nonprofit Stop Drug Homicide to advocate for families and push for more legislation to hold drug dealers accountable. One of these is Alexandra’s Law, which would require anyone with a drug-related conviction to receive a formal warning to educate them about the dangers of drug dealing, and would allow them to be charged with murder if they distribute drugs that result in someone’s death.
In California, it can be difficult for prosecutors to charge drug dealers with someone’s death because they have to prove the dealer knew the drugs could cause death, Capelouto said. A citation on the record for dealers convicted of a drug-related crime can be used as evidence in future cases if someone dies from the drugs they sold. Alexandra’s Law is included in Proposition 36, a strict measure against crime what California residents will vote on in November.
Capelouto is also part of a group of 60 families suing Snapchat over its role in the distribution of lethal narcoticsAlexandra Capelouto and Brandon McDowell were in contact via Snapchat when she bought pills from him.
Justin McDowell, Brandon’s father, said it’s unfair for his son to take all the blame. He said his son struggled with substance abuse and was in rehab, and he didn’t live with him at the time because he had younger children.
“My son is not a drug dealer at all. They were both users. They were both addicts,” he said. “He was a dumb 20-year-old kid.”
Justin McDowell said he felt the Capeloutos were seeking revenge through their lawsuits, and that he didn’t have the money or resources to fight in court on his son’s behalf. Brandon McDowell was being held in the federal prison in San Pedro during the trial and had no attorneys to defend himself in civil or bankruptcy court.
“I think that’s sad, that shouldn’t be happening,” Justin McDowell said. “We’ll wait until he gets out of jail, give him a hug and figure out how to deal with the situation … that kid is never going to make $5.8 million in his life.”
According to Matt Capelouto, there is no evidence that his daughter has a drug addiction. Brandon McDowell’s addiction does not absolve him of responsibility for her death.
“When you go from drug user to drug dealer, you cross the line between needing help and being held accountable,” he said.