The Hawaii Police Department has confirmed its investigation into the fatal fentanyl overdose of a 14-year-old West Hawaii girl was routed to the county prosecutor’s office last month.
The teenager died in November 2021 after reportedly recording herself sniffing a substance while using the TikTok social media app. Her death has been ruled accidental by a medical examiner.
“The police just completed their investigation,” county Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen told the Tribune-Herald on Thursday. “The case has been assigned to a deputy for review.”
The deputy will work with the lead investigator from HPD and determine any follow-ups or further investigation. Waltjen added his office likely will be reaching out to other outside law enforcement agencies at the state and federal level.
“This is not an arrest-and-charge case,” he said. “The investigation took since November until now, so it’s probably going to take us a little bit of time to go over it.”
It is not yet clear how many individuals are being considered for charges or what those charges might be.
“This is a tragic death,” said addiction medicine specialist Dr. Kevin Kunz, who serves on the islandwide Fentanyl Task Force.
He said the death of the girl is the second West Hawaii high school student to die from a fentanyl overdose.
On July 3, the U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics recently updated its statistic confirming that one Big Island resident dies every 11 days from a drug overdose, mostly attributed to fentanyl.
“If somebody was getting shot and killed every 11 days, everyone – every person, family, public service agency, private business, health care provider, every person with the power to address the crisis — would be working together toward a solution,” said Kunz.
“Working together, our island community has the power to implement a solution,” he said. “We can’t just look the other way, or see addiction as a moral, character or behavioral problem, we can’t just treat addiction as a crime, because it is also a disease. If we reach our youth in time, it is a preventable disease.”
The overdoses have led to increased awareness at Big Island high schools, and many are now reaching out to the Fentanyl Task Force for on-campus presentations for students.
“I’ve been presenting every week to one group or another,” said Kimo Alameda, who leads the Fentanyl Task Force, which has recently given presentations at Ka‘u High School, the Big Island Substance Abuse Council Summer Jam, and the Kona Back to School Summit.
Waiakea High School has requested a presentation next Wednesday about the dangers of fentanyl. Alameda said it is likely the first Department of Education school in the state to offer a presentation to the entire student body about the issue.
Additional presentations are set for high schools and athletic programs throughout the Big Island.
The HPD reported that prior to 2020, annual statewide seizures of fentanyl were less than 1 pound, but from 2020 to 2021, roughly 52 pounds of fentanyl were confiscated throughout the state, more than 30 of which came from the Big Island.
“There’s definitely a presence,” said police Capt. Thomas Shopay. “Our vice sections on both sides of the island are very aggressively trying to target (fentanyl) due to the dangers.”
In June, roughly 1,352 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl were mailed from Washington to Kona and were confiscated.
Back in November 2021, police recovered nearly $1 million in Kona related to fentanyl sales, which officers were able to link to the death of a minor.
“It will be a horror if three or four people overdose and die on the same day here in Kona or Hilo. And that has happened in many other places, communities just like ours,” said Kunz, who added that the leading cause of death for those 18-45 still remains fentanyl.
“It’s everywhere, this is not unique to us.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.