An East Chicago man is facing charges after buying fentanyl-laced cocaine for a woman he knew who later overdosed.
Emecghia T. James, 45, was charged Thursday with dealing a controlled substance resulting in death, a Level 1 felony, and four counts of dealing in cocaine or a narcotic drug, all Level 5 felonies.
He is in custody, held on a $9,000 cash surety bond.
The woman, Jazmine Garcia, 31, of Fort Wayne and formerly Hammond, was pronounced dead on April 13, 2023, at St. Catherine’s in East Chicago. The Lake County Coroner’s Office ruled she died from an accidental drug overdose.
A second man is named as the drug dealer in court documents but has not been formally charged in public filings.
That man previously pleaded guilty to cocaine dealing in 53-year-old Michael Fromm’s January 2021 murder in a north Hammond drug house, records show.
He was released from jail in 2022 and successfully finished probation in March, court filings show.
“I think they gave me something,” Garcia told a witness on the 2800 block of 165th Street in Hammond before she overdosed. She told the woman James just dropped her off.
James told investigators he was with Garcia that night, but denied doing drugs with her.
Cops found texts starting just after 9:30 p.m. April 12 from “Ears Dollar L” — the drug dealer — setting up a cocaine deal. James admitted buying nearly $250 worth of crack cocaine in separate transactions for Garcia, who paid him in a cash app.
The drug dealer drove James and Garcia to the home on the 2800 block of 165th Street in Hammond for Garcia to do drugs with a friend, the affidavit states.
Cellphone pings put James and the alleged drug dealer in the area, the affidavit states.
The law is usually used to charge drug dealers in an overdose death. Hammond Police Detective John Riordan wrote the case fit that definition because he argued James did “transfer” drugs to Garcia.
Garcia battled addiction for 18 years, according to her obituary.
mcolias@post-trib.com
