Man held in deadly drug sale
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, October 4, 2006
A fugitive task force Tuesday night arrested an Everett man charged with selling drugs to a teen who later died from an overdose.
Raoul Mahon Keith, 38, was being held in the Snohomish County Jail on $160,000 bail, deputy prosecutor Janice Albert said.
He is charged in Snohomish County Superior Court with a seldom-cited crime called “controlled substance homicide” in the Nov. 1, 2004, death of 19-year-old Shaen Jesmer of Monroe.
Prosecutors allege that Jesmer and some companions drove to Everett the previous evening and purchased a quantity of methadone from Keith. It is a prescription drug often given to addicts to help them kick heroin.
Methadone also is a painkiller, and Jesmer reportedly bought the drug for the pain of a broken collarbone, Albert said.
Keith originally was charged just with delivery of metha-done. The controlled substance homicide was added in March, said Eric Robertson, spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service in Seattle.
Keith, who had been free without bail, had been scheduled to appear in Snohomish County Superior Court in August for a pretrial hearing. He failed to show. A judge then issued an arrest warrant.
The Pacific Northwest Fugitive Apprehension Task Force arrested Keith outside the Top Food and Drug store in the 1600 block of Everett Mall Way, Robertson said.
The task force consists of a variety of law agencies, including the U.S. Marshals. Its goal is to disrupt illegal drug and gun traffickers and arrest fugitives.
Albert credited Monroe Police Sgt. Cindy Chessie with aiding in the investigation that located Keith.
According to charging papers, Jesmer consumed most of a small bottle of methadone Oct. 31 and went to sleep. He wasn’t breathing when companions woke up, and aid personnel couldn’t revive him.
Detectives later obtained a court-authorized recording of a conversation with Keith in which his role in the sale was discussed. A judge has ruled that the recording can be used in evidence in Keith’s trial, which is scheduled for Nov. 13.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s office ruled that Jesmer died of an overdose of methadone and diazepam, a drug used to relieve anxiety, muscle spasms and seizures, documents said.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@ heraldnet.com.
