The overdose death of a 13-year-old who ingested cocaine laced with fentanyl in September 2023 has led to four people being indicted by a Franklin County grand jury on dozens of felony charges, Columbus police announced Wednesday.
Ema Lilia Loza-De Leon, 57, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering children, and engaging in corrupt activity, Columbus police said in a media release. She has entered a plea of not guilty.
Jovany Avila, who is now 18 years old but was 17 at the time of the overdose, will face the same charges as De Leon if a judge agrees with police and prosecutors that he should be tried as an adult. For now, he is charged with a juvenile count of involuntary manslaughter.
Two other suspects, Lezly Avila, 20, and Jose Garcia-Huerta, 26, have been charged with 14 and 20 felonies respectively, and both include two counts of engaging in corrupt activity. The charges that all four suspects face all carry either a “use of a firearm” or “major drug offender” specification, or a combination of the two.