3 men and 1 woman dead at South Lake Tahoe home, police say. Authorities suspect drug abuse
Authorities on Tuesday released the names of three men and a woman who died after suspected drug overdoses Monday at a South Lake Tahoe home where investigators found a substance that has since tested presumptively as fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid.
They were identified as Abraham Lemus, 32; Adam Joy, 35; Keely Pereira, 33; and Clifford Joy, 30, according to a news release from the city of South Lake Tahoe. Lemus, Adam Joy and Pereira were South Lake Tahoe residents; Clifford Joy was a resident from Douglas County, Nevada.
The South Lake Tahoe Police Department is leading the investigation into the four deaths, along with help from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office and the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office.
An examination of the substance found at the home tested presumptively as fentanyl, however, autopsies and toxicology reports were still pending, city spokesperson Sheree Juarez wrote in Tuesday’s news release.
Fentanyl is a powerful and potentially addictive synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin. The state Department of Justice said two milligrams of fentanyl can result in overdose and potentially death.
About 9:10 a.m. Monday, South Lake Tahoe police officers were called to a home in the 500 block of Roger Avenue for a report of an unresponsive person, city officials have said.
A person at the home began administering CPR as authorities arrived at the home. There were two additional people in the home when officers arrived and they have cooperated with the investigation, Juarez has said.
Paramedics declared two people dead once they arrived at the home. Authorities began providing medical aid upon two other people, who also died.
Substance abuse “is suspected but not confirmed” in the deaths, Juarez has said.
Investigators asked anyone with information about these deaths to send an email to cybertips@cityofslt.us.
The Bee’s Rosalio Ahumada contributed to this story.
