3 Dead, 1 Rushed to Hospital, in Suspected Opioid Overdoses in New Rochelle

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (March 25, 2023) — Three people are dead and one more was taken to New Rochelle Montefiore Hospital following what is believed to be an opioid overdose. The incident occurred at 50 Fountain Place, not far from New Rochelle Fire Department Firehouse 1 on Harrison Street.

NRPD UPDATE 3/29/23: Fentanyl suspected but may take months for coroner’s report

“We do not have confirmation on what drug it was but we do suspect fentanyl, and are awaiting lab results,” said New Rochelle Police Captain J. Collins Coyne, Commander of the Criminal Investigation Division. “We will not have confirmation on toxicology for months”.

Coyne is referring to toxicology screens performed on the deceased by the Westchester County Coroner’s Office. A toxicology screen in an overdose death is performed by the Coroner as part of an autopsy in an unattended death.

NRPD UPDATE 3/27/23 12:47 PM: Identified of 3 Deceased Men

The three deceased men from the March 25th overdose incident have been identified, all three were New Rochelle residents:

• Carl Encarnacion, 43, New Rochelle
• Danny Howard, 49, New Rochelle
• Sean Thomas Windley, 28, New Rochelle
  

The fourth victim, from Mount Vernon remains hospitalized and will not be identified at this time.

Police narrative: On March 25th, 2023, at about 2:43 PM, New Rochelle Police received a call from a male stating he was possibly overdosing and that he was with three others who were also overdosing and now unresponsive. The caller was disoriented did not know where he was, and New Rochelle Police Dispatchers were able ping his cell phone and determined his location to be 50 Fountain Place. Responding officers located the caller and the three other unresponsive males in a storage room in the rear of 50 Fountain Place. New Rochelle Fire and EMS personnel responded and transported the caller to a local hospital. The three other males at the scene were pronounced deceased by EMS Personnel. The names of the caller and the deceased are being withheld at this time, so their families can be properly notified.

The initial NRPD statement issues on the day of the incident asked that “anyone with information on this incident is asked to call New Rochelle Police at 914-654-2300”. That statement was modified to the statement below.

NRPD UPDATE 3/27/23 12:47 PM:

This investigation remains open and active, anyone with information is urged to call the New Rochelle Police at 914-654-2300.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We have asked both the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and the New Rochelle Police Department whether there are circumstances where a person provided drugs that result in an overdose — like the 50 Fountain Place incident— might be charged with murder. The DA’s Office says a murder charge at the state level is rare but federal charges do happen. Maybe it’s time to amend the New York statutes to provide for a murder charge if a dealer knows customers are overdosing from their product.

At about 2:54 pm, the sole survivor was brought up from the basement and prepared for transport on the sidewalk outside of 50 Fountain Place. We have a video clip of that moment courtesy of C, a reader.

Residents of 50 Fountain Place said the room where the four people overdosed is a former laundry room used now to store garbage. The room, they say, did not lock and was accessible from the street. They said they did not believe the four people were residents of the building. They said the building owner, who arrived on scene at about 7:00 pm, had been cited for building code violations which included the unsecured area where three people died. We have put in request for information on these claims to the New Rochelle Building Department.

At about 4:00 pm, David Peters, New Rochelle Board of Education Member and Democratic Party Candidate for City Council District 3, arrived at 50 Fountain Place with a clipboard/folder in hand, apparently hoping to collect petition signatures at the crime scene. Surrounded by police vehicles and ambulances, Peters lingered on the sidewalk just a few feet from the deceased — blocking emergency responder access to the entryway — then left.

At about 7:15 pm, people with apparent connections to the deceased began to arrive on scene — talking, embracing and pacing worriedly. Some asked police for information but were told information on the deceased was being withheld pending notification of family.

At about 7:40 pm, as the medical examiner and several emergency response attempted to raise the gurney holding the first body removed from the basement, the gurney gave away and the body fell sideways onto the ground (see video).

At about 8:00 pm, a van from the Westchester County Medical Examiner left the scene.

EDITOR’S NOTE: we arrived on scene from shortly 3:00 pm, about 20 minutes after the 911 call, until the Medical Examiner left the scene at about 8:00 pm. The video has been updated one final time. The video now includes paramedics preparing the only survivor for transport (h/t C), detectives working the crime scene, the medical examiner preparing 3 deceased for transport plus various B-Roll indicating the location and police response. There were two incidents involving First Amendment issues, where police officers interfered with our reporting from the crime scene, which we have taken up with police and city officials.

UPDATE:

CBS2 has a report from a gathering of family and friends outside 50 Fountain Police. The report identified two of the deceased: Danny Howard (49) and Carl Encarnacion (42).

Family members speak out following overdose deaths of 3 people in New Rochelle

RELATED:

A Primer on Fentanyl Overdoses and Related Toxicology – Introduction

No Opioids Found in Vaping Student Given Narcan at New Rochelle High School, Police Say

MEDIA OUTLETS USING TALK OF THE SOUND VIDEO & IMAGES:

WABC: 3 men dead, 1 critical after overdosing on drugs in New Rochelle: Police

FOX5: 3 dead, 1 critical after apparent overdose in New Rochelle

NYPOST: 3 dead, one critical after group overdoses in New Rochelle: police

FOX5: Victims in suspected fentanyl overdose in New Rochelle identified

PHOTO GALLERY:

EDITOR’S NOTE: There were two incidents involving First Amendment issues, where police officers interfered with our reporting from the crime scene, which we have taken up with police and city officials.