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V.C. Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit Arrests Suspect for Manslaughter and Dealing Heroin Causing Death
By Ventura County Sheriff Department — Monday, January 12th, 2015
 Allen Rosales On January 6, 2015, the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit (PCU) arrested (S) Allen Rosales for manslaughter and heroin dealing resulting in death. The arrest came at the conclusion of a two and a half month investigation after (V) Michael Mendez died from a drug and alcohol overdose. On October 23, 2014, Allen Rosales supplied his cousin Michael Mendez with heroin. Mendez was naive to heroin use, but had prior addiction issues with opiate medications. Mendez used the heroin while also drinking alcohol. Rosales failed to provide medical care or notify family members that Mendez was overdosing on heroin. Mendez was transported to the hospital where he died. After numerous interviews, an analysis of the toxicology reports, and a review of the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s report, investigators arrested Rosales for his role in his cousin’s death. He was booked into the Ventura County Jail. His bail is set at $300,000. The Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit is a task force comprised of members from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Simi Valley Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation, and the California Highway Patrol. The primary mission of the task force is combatting the transfer of legal prescription medication to the illegal market. In addition, the task force works to identify and stop new trends of abuse among the younger population and investigates overdose deaths due to both prescription medication and illicit drug use. Anyone with information regarding these topics is encouraged to contact the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit at (805) 383-8700 or via e-mail at pharm.tip@ventura.org. The task force will continue to aggressively pursue all individuals involved in the furnishing of drugs resulting in another person’s death. All too often, young adults begin their opiate addiction innocently enough with exposure to prescription medication received for an injury. They may also be introduced to medication through friends or family. Prescription medication use, sometimes leads to abuse. This abuse of highly addictive, yet very expensive drugs, regularly leads to heroin use. Heroin users become heroin dealers to support their habits. It is a vicious cycle that very frequently ends in tragedy and death. The PCU supports responsible prescribing and dispensing of opiate medication from doctors and pharmacists, in the hope that increased scrutiny from medical professionals will curtail heroin abuse in the future. Several credible sources state that the United States, with about 5% of the world’s population, consumes nearly 80% of the opiate medications produced, most notably 99% of the world’s hydrocodone (Vicodin). Nature of Incident: Suspect Arrested for Manslaughter and Heroin Dealing Resulting in Death |
