MONROE — The drug that killed a 32-year-old man from an overdose in a Monroe hotel room earlier this month is suspected to be the synthetic opioid fentanyl, according to court records.
It’s not an entirely new thing in Monroe, but the danger posed by fentanyl — many times more powerful than regular heroin — is a growing problem here and nationwide, according to Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley. Police initially did not say what drug was involved in the incident and maintain that toxicology tests on the victim are necessary to confirm with 100 percent certainty.
“It’s a thing we are seeing more of everywhere,” said Kelley, “It’s a common replacement for street heroin … It’s more prevalent than heroin these days.”
The victim, Daniel Kundert, was found unresponsive in a Monroe motel room just last Tuesday, Aug. 23. A preliminary cause of death led investigators to charge Levi Janssens with supplying the deadly drugs.
In fact, according to Kelley quick thinking by investigators led to the swift charges against Janssens — those investigators reportedly used Kundert’s phone to order more drugs before word of the overdose leaked out and that led to the arrest of Janssens at 6:35 p.m. that night. Kelley said such an effort has to be done quickly before news of the arrest leads the supplier to be wary of delivering more drugs, and before anyone else overdoses on the supply.
Janssens, a Monroe native, has been charged with first degree reckless homicide and possession of narcotics. The arrest involved work by Monroe detectives, along with the multi-state drug task force known as SLANT, the chief said.
According to court records, Janssens has been released on a $15,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 13.
To help counter the overdose threat, Kelley said police officers in Monroe all carry doses of the drug Narcan. But he said in some cases — including the one involving Kundert — it’s too late to revive the victim.
Kelley said the incident points to the obvious danger of using opiates — a danger that’s always present because even experienced users can’t be sure whether they have fentanyl, or even the purity level of what they think to be regular heron.
“My advice is… don’t get hooked on drugs, but if you are an opiate user, I would be very careful,” Kelley said.
Prior to his death, Kundert’s struggle with drugs led to the creation of a group called Fighting Addiction It Takes Help (FAITH) to raise awareness of the issue and provide support to those impacted by opiate abuse. Kundert was a 2008 graduate of Monroe High School.