Man who sold pills laced with fentanyl liable for $5.8 million in connection with death of young customer

LOS ANGELES – In 2019, Brandon McDowell was contacted by a college sophomore asking him to purchase the prescription painkiller Percocet.

Instead, the 20-year-old sold her counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that can be fatal in doses as low as two milligrams. Hours later, Alexandra Capelouto, also 20, was dead in her home in Temecula, California.

This scenario is becoming increasingly common as fentanyl overdoses have become one of the leading causes of death among minors over the past five years. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 74,000 people in the United States will die from a synthetic opioid in 2023.

McDowell has been behind bars since 2022 for fentanyl possession, but the Capeloutos have now obtained another $5.8 million judgment against him for the death of their daughter.

“We won the battle, but not the war,” said Matt Capelouto, Alexandra’s father. “We still have a long way to go before we hold the drug traffickers accountable for the deaths.”

Baruch Cohen, the Capeloutos’ lawyer, said that to his knowledge this was the first time a drug trafficker had been held civilly liable for the death of a person.

“We hope that this verdict is the blow that will be heard around the world,” Cohen said. “Because if it prevents another drug deal from going through, where the drug dealer … realizes that in addition to the prison sentence, he will also have to pay millions of dollars in damages, he may reconsider.”

McDowell, now 25, pleaded guilty for the first time in 2022 in federal court in California to possession of fentanyl with intent to resell. That charge carries a minimum sentence of 20 years if it involves death or serious bodily harm and is found guilty by a jury. McDowell was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Alexandra’s father, Matt Capelouto, felt that wasn’t enough. He and his wife, who was also diagnosed with terminal breast cancer that same year and has been battling it ever since, decided to sue McDowell for wrongful death.

“This was not a fair verdict when you take someone’s life,” he said. “I will use all possible means to ensure that justice is done.”

While McDowell was filing for bankruptcy, the Capeloutos won a $5 million judgment against him. The Riverside County Superior Court found that he had “willfully and maliciously” sold harmful narcotics that resulted in Alexandra Capelouto’s death. A few months later, the Capeloutos filed another case in federal bankruptcy court to ensure that McDowell could not escape his debts through bankruptcy.

“Bankruptcy is for honest debtors, not fraudulent criminal debtors,” Cohen said. “This judgment will haunt him for the rest of his life, and if he makes money, we will seize it. If he buys property, we will put a lien on it.”

Judge Mark Houle ruled in favor of the Capeloutos and sentenced Brandon McDowell to pay a fine of $5.8 million, which includes interest for a year and a half in addition to the original $5 million.

After his daughter’s death, Matt Capelouto founded the nonprofit Stop Drug Homicide to advocate for families’ rights and push for more laws that hold drug dealers accountable. One of these is Alexandra’s Law, which requires that anyone convicted of a drug offense receive a formal warning to inform them of the dangers of drug trafficking and to warn them that they could be charged with murder if they distribute drugs that result in a person’s death.

In California, it can be difficult for prosecutors to charge drug dealers in a person’s death because they have to prove the dealer knew the drugs could cause death, Capelouto said. A warning for dealers convicted of a drug offense could be used as evidence in future cases if someone dies from the drugs they sold. Alexandra’s law is included in Proposition 36, an anti-crime bill that Californians will vote on in November.

Capelouto is also part of a group of 60 families suing Snapchat for its role in distributing deadly narcotics. Alexandra Capelouto and Brandon McDowell had been communicating on Snapchat when she bought pills from him.

Justin McDowell, Brandon’s father, said it was unfair that his son took all the blame. He said his son had struggled with substance abuse and had been in rehab. He didn’t live with him at the time because he had younger children.

“My son is not a drug dealer at all. They were both users. They were both addicts,” he said. “He was a stupid 20-year-old boy.”

Justin McDowell said he felt the Capeloutos were seeking revenge with their lawsuits, and he had no money or resources to fight for his son in court. Brandon McDowell was in federal prison in San Pedro during the trial and had no lawyers to defend him in civil or bankruptcy court.

“I think that’s sad, that shouldn’t be allowed,” Justin McDowell said. “We’re going to wait until he gets out of prison, hug him and figure out how to handle the situation… the kid is never going to make $5.8 million in his life.”

Matt Capelouto said there was no evidence of his daughter’s drug addiction and that Brandon McDowell’s addiction does not absolve him of responsibility for her death.

“When you go from being a drug user to being a drug dealer, you cross the line between needing help and needing to be held accountable,” he said.