PITTSBURGH — Police say a man has been arrested on suspicion of providing a white powdery substance tainted with fentanyl at an after-party in Pittsburgh, leading to the death of three men, including one from Columbus.
Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri says Peter Rene Sanchez Montalvo was arrested Monday on federal charges of distributing a controlled substance resulting in death and serious bodily injury.
Rubiel Clemente-Martinez, of Columbus, and two other men were pronounced dead at the scene. Four people were hospitalized and one man remained hospitalized Monday in critical condition, while others were in stable condition.
Clemente-Martinez, 32, was found outside an elevator at a building where five of the victims were found in an apartment.
All of the victims who overdosed had been at the same bar on Saturday night, where a band was performing, and were invited to the apartment by Montalvo, who goes by the name Carlos, according to Pittsburgh police.
No information on an attorney for him was available.
Federal prosecutors say the partygoers believed the white substance was cocaine. The medical examiner’s office has initially determined it contained the powerful opioid fentanyl.
It’s unclear who alerted emergency authorities, who arrived at the building to find several people dead or in need of medical help.