A 23-year-old Vancouver man accused in two fatal drug overdoses caused by pills laced with a powerful opioid appeared Monday morning via video in Clark County Superior Court.
David A. Urbach is facing an allegation of controlled substance homicide in the deaths of 23-year-old LaJeune Q. Gay and 50-year-old Kristina L. Rosbach, both of Vancouver.
The cause and manner of death for Gay and Rosbach are pending, according to the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Judge Daniel Stahnke set bail for Urbach, who has no known prior criminal history, at $25,000. Urbach will be arraigned June 10.
At about 5:15 a.m. Friday, Vancouver police responded to Gay’s residence in the 13100 block of Northeast 26th Street, after Gay’s brother reported his death. Officers learned from Gay’s girlfriend, Zoe Williams, that she believed he died after consuming a light blue pill that he got from Urbach the night before, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Then, at about 9:40 a.m., police responded to Williams’ aunt’s residence in the 13900 block of Northeast 39th Street for an overdose death investigation. Williams told officers she suspected her aunt, Rosbach, had also consumed the same blue pill, the affidavit states.
Williams said Rosbach text messaged her the night before and asked if she knew where she could get some pills. Williams told Gay, and he contacted Urbach. Her aunt requested three “percs,” also known as Percocet, and was quoted a price, court records say.
The couple then drove to Rosbach’s residence, collected her money and drove to Urbach’s residence to purchase the pills. Gay showed Williams that he actually obtained four pills, described as being round and light blue. Gay took one of the pills and delivered the remaining three to Williams’ aunt, according to court documents.
Gay and Williams then returned to Gay’s residence, where he consumed alcohol and appeared to become drowsy, Williams said. She did not see him consume the pill, she said, but she assumed his drowsiness was an effect of the pill. She fell asleep and later awoke to find Gay dead, the affidavit states.
An investigator with the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office was shown Facebook messages on Gay’s cellphone between him and Urbach.
Urbach reportedly told Gay: “And you gotta be super careful with these. They are dumb strong. Like take it slow (as expletive). Small lines. I don’t wanna lose a bro,” the message reads, according to the affidavit.
Following Gay’s death investigation, Williams called her aunt to check on her, but she didn’t answer. Williams and other family members went to Rosbach’s house and found her dead. Authorities recovered a syringe from underneath her body, as well as 2 1/2 pills nearby, court records say.
Detectives arrested Urbach — while waiting to serve a search warrant on his residence — when he returned home. He refused to give a statement. A search of his residence turned up small, clear plastic bags, with Playboy bunnies printed on one side, that matched the bag containing the pills found at Rosbach’s residence, according to court documents.
Testing of the pills found their major chemical component to be fentanyl, a powerful opioid. Investigators have said that “counterfeit” oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl are being sold throughout Clark County.
