Police arrest 21-year-old in Hough High drug case. How big is this problem?
July 12. By Dave Yochum. There’s been another fatal overdose involving a student at Hough High. The mother of Laird Ramirez says her 17-year-old son died of an accidental fentanyl overdose. He was a senior, a wrestler and by all accounts a good kid.
Laird was 17 | Photo provided by Hayden Garvey-Knapp
“He was a shining light, an extraordinary kid, he was smart and funny and wry and low-key funny and so kind. He was the kid that looked after his friends. He didn’t tolerate bullying,” said Laird’s mother, Gwyneth Brown.
She has a daughter who is an incoming freshman. Her concern is profound.
A tragic death
On Saturday afternoon, July 1, Cornelius Police responded to a medical call-for-service on a street just east of Birkdale Village in Cornelius. They found Laird, already dead, of an apparent overdose.
Police kept Brown from seeing her son because of the nature of a fentanyl death, she said. She was able to spend some time with him at Raymer-Kepner Funeral Home where services will be held this Saturday at 4 pm.
Background
Laird’s death is related to the arrest of Tina Marie Alexander and Matthew Christian Dominguez. They operated out of a doublewide at 7620 Norman Island Drive for quite some time. Police conducted a weeks-long investigation due to multiple citizen complaints, as well as a rise in overdose cases involving several neighboring jurisdictions.
Brown said her son knew both Alexander and Dominguez.
Detectives seized 988 yellow and blue Fentanyl pills, 17 grams of Methamphetamine, and 2 grams of Psychedelic Mushrooms.
Alexander was charged with Felony Level III Trafficking in Opium, Felony Conspire in Trafficking in Opium, Felony Possession with Intent to Distribute (PWISD) Methamphetamine, Felony Possession of Methamphetamine, Felony Possession of Schedule I, Felony Maintaining a Dwelling for controlled Substance, Felony Possession of Synthetic Cannabinoid, and Misdemeanor Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
Alexander
Dominguez was charged with Felony Level I Trafficking in Opium, Felony Conspire in Trafficking in Opium, Felony Possession with Intent to Manufacture/Sell/Deliver Schedule II, and Misdemeanor Drug Paraphernalia.
Both were arrested on scene and transported to the Mecklenburg County Jail. Tina Marie Alexander was issued a $1,000,000 secured bond and Matthew Christian Dominguez was issued a $100,000 secured bond.
Hough High
Parents on a Hough High parents Facebook page are saying there are other dealers who target Hough students. There have been overdoses and hospitalizations, including one in May where the student did not die.
Dominguez
But last September Olivia Mooney, 14, died of an accidental overdose. She was also a Hough student.
Brown said Hough administrators are not doing enough to warn students and parents of the dangers of recreational drugs in a fentanyl age vs. recreational drugs in the 1980s and 1990s.
Raymer-Kepner Funeral Home is handling arrangements for Laird. His obituary will be updated. Services are set for Saturday.
Update 12:10 pm: Full CMS response
CMS responded via email:
Thank you for your inquiry. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools cannot comment on its students, or disciplinary action given to students, due to FERPA privacy issues. Below is a statement from the school’s principal about measures taken in school and additional information about the anti-drug education programs.
“At Hough, students participate in weekly SEL lessons and a cornerstone at Hough is our Sources of Strength program whose mission is to provide evidence-based prevention for suicide, violence, bullying and substance abuse by training, supporting and empowering both peer leaders and trusted adults.” -David Farley, M.Ed. Principal, William Amos Hough High School.
Anti-drug education in the high schools occurs as part of our NC Health Education standards. The standards focus on understanding the risks of alcohol and substance use, the role of familial, community and cultural norms related to substance misuse, the effects and consequences of use, and exploring risk reduction behaviors and strategies to avoid use. In addition to being taught as part of the health education standards, schools present antidrug education through different initiatives such as Red Ribbon week or parent workshops.
For the 2023-24 school year, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is planning to implement increased drug education related to vaping on all middle and high school campuses next year. There are no plans to implement prevention education differently at any specific high school. Substance misuse and addiction affects all communities and is a concern throughout Mecklenburg county, it is not isolated to one area of Charlotte.
To learn more about disciplinary action our students may face for infractions during their school career please refer to the Code of Student Conduct on the CMS website https://www.cmsk12.org/domain/36
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Make the punishment for major drug dealers either murder or attempted murder. That’s exactly what their drugs are doing. And NO BAIL. $1m or $100k is peanuts when you consider what they are doing to our country. Lock them up for good.
Wow, I know I feel relieved that there is an increased antivaping educating. Whew!
HOUGH has a huge problem. Hough’s RESPONSE isn’t working. CMS needs to meet the students where they are, NOT CHECK A BOX that has little to no effect.
I guess more Hough students died and overdosed from vaping this year than Fentanyl.
I guess more Hough students are struggling in rehab right now due to their vaping addiction than their Fentanyl addiction.
I had no idea that the nationwide vaping epidemic had become so serious. Someone should tell the Attorney General, Josh Stein that he’s wasting his time creating a Fentanyl Control Unit when what we really need is a Vaping Control Unit. Thanks CMS for enlightening us all!
you can’t overdose from a vape. that’s ridiculous, if you knew more about fentanyl it kills 10000000 times more than a vape ever has. i’ve never heard of such a thing.
Why did the police release a drug dealer charged with felony drug death? On the street to deal again.
It’s not the police who release these people. It’s the magistrate. I’m sure the police are as disgusted as we are.
The programs that CMS are using in the schools are obviously ineffective. The problems have been going on for years and are getting worse. What they need to do is to get to the source of the problem – the dealers both in the community and the school. Until that is done, more children will die. And really classy on Hough High principal’s part – can’t even manage to express condolences to the family of Laird.
There will always be new dealers unless the prison sentences start fitting the crime.
Dealing Fentanyl should be attempted murder.
And one thing to stress is that these teens weren’t knowingly buying Fentanyl. They had no idea it was that level of risk.
The full damage of this drug ring won’t be known for years. Some of these kids will continue to battle addiction and some will not survive.
Absolutely agree with everything you are saying! The teens have no idea it’s fentanyl, but the dealers do!
Great job CMS at showing you don’t care without actually saying it.
No one has asked Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to comment on specific students, or disciplinary action given to students.
But when Hough administration knows that a student has overdosed from Fentanyl and when those same Fentanyl pills (the most addictive and deadly drug on the planet) are found on your campus, parents should have been notified! Because it was/is an active threat to your student body!
How about you increase your drug education to include #OnePillCanKill since it has killed 2 of your students and almost killed a third in the past year? How many Hough students died of vaping this year?
You can’t just point the finger at CMS and Hough. What about the parents? Yes it is sad that someone has lost their child but it the responsibility of the parents to protect and teach their children about the dangers of drugs. Even if they change their policy on drug use it doesn’t help if it is not being reinforced at home.
I’m not placing ALL of the blame on CMS. There is plenty of blame to go around between these teens, their parents, their friends, the high school, law enforcement…and of course, the dealers.
But there was a lot kept silent surrounding this issue at Hough. Same with law enforcement. They knew that students were using Fentanyl and they knew there was an increase in OD’s. The Fentanyl was actually on campus too. Being bought, sold and used in the school. You don’t think parents deserved a heads-up?
Drugs are a threat to our children. But this was/is an active Fentanyl threat at the school – a supposedly safe place where children spend the majority of their day. Parents can drive their children to school, pick them up after school, never let them leave home and drug test them daily. This could still happen.
You can talk to your children extensively on drugs, but they are not adults. Their brains aren’t fully developed and they won’t always make the right decisions. Teens will push boundaries and take risks. It part of how they learn. Also, when they are with their peers, studies have shown that they will engage in even riskier behavior.
So does Hough bear all the blame? No. Do they deserve a piece of it? Absolutely.
Hi Tanneca,
I would like to take minute to thank you for your particularly thoughtless and cruel comment,
“Yes it is sad that someone has lost their child but it the responsibility of the parents to protect and teach their children about the dangers of drugs.”
It’s not sad, it’s crushing.
I am devestated that my son won’t come home and tell me about his day, show me the latest song he wrote and tell me how much he’s able to lift at the gym.
I could hardly breathe when I had to tell his boss that he wouldn’t be coming in anymore because he died.
I howled when his wrestling coach told us that he would make sure the team attends my son’s funeral.
I threw up for hours while trying to plan a funeral.
For my son.
Who isn’t coming home.
Who won’t tell me he loves me ever again.
Who won’t be there for his little sister when she goes to Hough.
Who won’t be there for his big brother when he gets married.
My kid wasn’t an addict. He took #ONEPILL that was sold by a former Hough High School student, Sean Ayaars, whose parents lawyered up and got him bailed out of jail RIGHT AFTER KILLING MY SON.
That’s one pill. Once.
Are you saying that you’ve never made a mistake?
I think your disrespect for a grieving family displays your own poor manners and a lack of basic morality. Hiding behind a keyboard and sh*tposting becuase you don’t have anything positive to bring to the table is the mark of the lowest kind of troll.
Well said Gwyneth. The remarks made in the earlier post were insensitive, uninformed and dangerous. A society that blames one entity for a National Crisis has its head in the sand. Communities need to return to being “the village” – be observant, be involved, be informed and don’t be afraid to question. To do otherwise does not give you permission to judge what you have not taken the time to understand. My heart breaks for you Gwyneth – keep focused – ignore the noise.
Exactly. It takes a village to look after our children. It is not possible for parents to do alone, especially once they hit their teen years and have more freedom.
And teens need that freedom to learn how to make decisions for themselves. Making mistakes is part of that process to become an adult. Life is a learning process. Making mistakes doesn’t end once you’re 18. Even adults make bad decisions, learn from them and grow wiser.
So while teens are going through this crucial developmental stage, it does require family, friends, neighbors, teachers, coaches and many others to help.
Very well said Gwyneth and keep this in the news so hopefully other lives are saved. Hugs to you and sending prayers with strength for you and your family.
Where to begin with this one. 😑 We do talk to our kids about drugs. We do monitor their friends, location and activities. But I had NO clue FENTANYL was here in town. That students are dealing in school and that there were known major drug dealers in town targeting the youth. A simple message to parents. Fentanyl is KNOWN to be present and is becoming a growing problem. Making us aware of this specific issue wouldn’t have taken much and I certainly would have (and now certainly have) upped my game. I am far more vigilant and will continue to be so. Too bad a simple PSA wasn’t put out to remind parents…these aren’t the drugs of our days and they are HERE FOR A FACT. Maybe if they had… Gwynne would still have her son and my daughter would still have her boyfriend.
Exactly, a simple PSA. Instead of one parent talking to 2-3 parents and those parents talking to 2-3 parents, and so on. The school could have issued a notification to ALL parents.
Fentanyl is a known danger across the US. Parents know that it’s out there, they know it’s in NC, they know it’s in Charlotte. They know that it could potentially be in their child’s school.
But a confirmation and warning that it is/was 100% at Hough High School, would have opened some eyes and had parents reacting based on FACT, not a statistical possibility.
I hope parents know that this can happen to any child. Your child may know the dangers. Your child may say that they will never take drugs.
But they are children…and when they are with their peers, they will sometimes make decisions that go against what they have been taught. It may be curiosity, it may be peer pressure, it may be testing limits. Whatever the reason, it can and does happen. No child or family is immune.