U.S. Navy sailor charged with selling fentanyl that led to the death of his USS Abraham Lincoln shipmate, federal complaint says
The complaint, filed in the Southern District of California, accuses the sailor of regularly selling pills to other Navy sailors, including ones tainted with fentanyl
A U.S. Navy sailor was charged in federal court today with distributing fentanyl that resulted in the January 2023 death of one of his fellow sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
A federal complaint accuses the defendant, Bailey Szramowski, of regularly selling Percocet pills (which government prosecutors say were likely counterfeit) to sailors on the USS Lincoln, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier based in San Diego.
Two years ago, a sailor identified only as A.N. in the complaint died from acute fentanyl intoxication while he was on leave and staying with his aunt and uncle in San Leandro, California.
Ten days after that, another USS Lincoln sailor was hospitalized due to a drug overdose, but survived after receiving treatment for opiate overdoses, including acute fentanyl intoxication. That sailor, identified as C.L. in the court document, told NCIS investigators that A.N. and Szramowski “had been actively selling Percocet pills (likely counterfeit M30 pills) to other sailors, including himself, for approximately the prior year.”
The complaint continues:
C.L. claimed to have purchased pills from SZRAMOWSKI approximately 10 times during the USS Abraham Lincoln’s 2022 deployment and an additional four times after the ship returned to San Diego, California, including on January 13, 2023, the day of his overdose. According to C.L., SZRAMOWSKI sourced the pills—described as small, blue pills with the number “30” inscribed on them—via the mail (USPS) and received them at a P.O. box in Coronado, California. C.L. and other sailors would pay SZRAMOWSKI for the pills via CashApp.
The pills that caused A.N.’s death and C.L.’s overdose were allegedly tainted with fentanyl, the complaint says. If convicted, Szramowski could face life in prison.
So basically, two active Navy servicemen from the same ship overdosed on drugs that one of their shipmates sold them, one dies, but based on some quick googling it doesn’t appear as if anything about it was made public two years ago. Today’s complaint was buried on PACER, apparently not even worthy of a mention on U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath’s news feed.
It’s unclear at this point what Szramowski’s status is with the Navy, or what sort of disciplinary actions the Navy may have taken by now. Szramowski’s legal representation is not yet listed on the court docket. It’s also unclear whether he’s been arrested or when he’ll appear in court for the first time. Consider this a developing story.
Szramowski also allegedly reached out to A.N.’s uncle and aunt to ask them to delete phone messages between him and A.N., according to the complaint.
“SZRAMOWSKI further stated that he ‘might go down for murder’ or it would ‘ruin his future’ or words to that effect if the police found the messages,” the complaint alleges.
Then he allegedly tried asking A.N.’s onetime fiancé, identified as G.G., to delete the messages.
According to the complaint, G.G. also told NCIS investigators: “SZRAMOWSKI would order Percocet pills online and have them delivered to a P.O. Box at a Postal Annex in Coronado, California. He would then sell the pills to A.N. and other sailors for profit and would also use them recreationally.”
The complaint concludes:
As part of its investigation, NCIS performed a forensic extraction and examination of A.N.’s cell phone. The examination revealed that from September through December 2022, SZRAMOWSKI and A.N. regularly discussed drug use and drug sales— including “perc[s],” “coca,” “coke,” “blow,” “vics,” “hydrocodone,” “lsd,” “shrooms,” and “ecstasy.” They also occasionally filmed themselves using drugs. During a review of A.N.’s CashApp account records, NCIS agents discovered a $100 payment from A.N. to SZRAMOWSKI on December 30, 2022. On January 3, 2023, the day of A.N.’s death, SZRAMOWSKI texted G.G. and instructed her to “[g]et [A.N.’s] phone” and “delete mine and his msgs” so that law enforcement would not find them, which he claimed would result in SZRAMOWSKI “go[ing] to prison” and “go[ing] down for murder.”
A statement emailed to me by an NCIS spokesperson: “Out of respect for the investigative process, NCIS will not comment further while the investigation remains ongoing. NCIS considers investigations ongoing until the adjudication phase has concluded, after which time you may file a Freedom of Information Act request with NCIS for any releasable investigative files.”
[updated Jan. 8, 2024 at 9:14 p.m. PST with the statement from NCIS]
I wish they would stop fentanyl at its source. Cut the head off the snake. 🐍
Of all the administrative exams I had to do as a Navy physician in San Diego, my favorite was the separation physical for illicit drug use. I was always happy to be there, and that seemed to surprise many of them. So I explained to them how weak their behaviors made the entire defense force, and potentially all of our lives. I explained to them that I and their fellow sailors would have had their back, but they had demonstrated they would not have had anyone else’s back. Having no respect for their fellow sailors, they sure did not deserve any respect now. So really, I would say, it’s in the entire country’s best interest that they be given a dishonorable discharge from the military and it was my privilege to help that happen. Finally, I urged them to seriously get help, and some resources.
A nuclear aircraft carrier. What could go wrong?
My idiot boss at Kaiser years later pompously told us all that he had just read John Krakauer’ Into Thin Air and that the takeaway was that we are strong as a team. I replied, no, the takeaway is that we are only as strong as our weakest link.