Prosecutors dismiss charge against woman accused of delivering drugs that killed teen

Charges have been dropped against a 22-year-old woman accused of supplying the drugs that killed a teen in Pasco.

Deputy Prosecutor Joseph Faurholt said there would need to be more investigation before prosecutors could pursue charges against Jaidin Ramirez, according to his motion to dismiss the one count of controlled substance homicide she faced.

She was previously released from the Franklin County jail while prosecutors determined if they wanted to pursue the charge.

Ramirez had been facing the relatively rare charge of controlled substance homicide. She was accused of working with Alexander James Bautista, 25, to get drugs to an 18-year-old teen.

The teen —Sylvester “Lil Ves” Muldrow — believed he was getting cocaine, but he was found dead in a car in Pasco several hours later. Investigators discovered a combination of fentanyl, THC, alcohol and cocaine in his blood.

Ramirez’s attorney, Katherine Bohnet, pointed out that there is no proof showing her client participated in delivering the drugs. The one piece of evidence connecting her to the delivery, a cell phone that Muldrow sent text messages to, was used by Bautista, court documents said.

“There is no evidence in this matter that Ms. Ramirez either delivered a controlled substance or acted as an accomplice in delivering a controlled substance,” Bohnet wrote in a motion to dismiss the charges.

Bautista is also charged with with controlled substances homicide.

Prosecutors have used the charge more often in recent years to target suspects for selling fatal doses of illegal drugs. This was the second time in in 2024 Franklin County prosecutors charged someone with the crime.

The Tri-Cities, like many communities nationwide, has struggled for several years with a continuing number of fentanyl overdoses.

The synthetic opioid is 100 times more more potent than morphine and hundreds of times stronger than street-level heroin, federal officials have said.

Looking for cocaine

Pasco police investigators say Muldrow and a 20-year-old female friend used cocaine on Sept. 19 and wanted more on Sept. 20.

Messages found on Muldrow’s phone show he contacted someone using a social media app, and they agreed to meet at a Pasco supermarket.

Muldrow and his friend drove from Richland to Pasco. Bautista got into the back seat and handed Muldrow a bag that allegedly contained cocaine, court documents said.

The teen divided the powder into three lines, one which he used, one given to his friend and the third used by Bautista.

After Bautista left, the 20-year-old woman and Muldrow drove off but she pulled to the side of the road near Columbia Memorial Gardens cemetery, said court documents.

She told police the next thing she remembered was waking up in the hospital, court documents said.

Police found her unconscious in the car about 12:30 p.m. Sept. 20. Muldrow already was dead.

She was rushed to Lourdes Medical Center and given Narcan several times. The medication can help reverse opioid overdoses if administered in time.

Medical staff and the coroner found a combination of cocaine, fentanyl and THC in both the woman’s and Muldrow’s bodies.

Bautista also suffered an overdose after using the drugs. A person found him unconscious on a bathroom floor and called 911.

Motion to dismiss

Bohnet said there are three pieces of evidence that allegedly linked Ramirez to the drugs that killed Muldrow —the text message asking for cocaine and follow up text messages and a phone call.

“The only evidence that Ms. Ramirez had the slightest idea of what was going on prior to the delivery and the death was the text message to her phone from Mr. Muldrow requesting cocaine,” she said.

She noted that Bautista was logged into all of the apps on the phone linked to the number Muldrow called. In addition, Bautista’s driver’s license was tucked into the back of the case of that phone.

“There is also no evidence that she knew that Mr. Bautista was going to take them any illegal substance,” Bohnet wrote.

Muldrow and Ramirez did talk about finding a drug dealer through social media, but they spoke about marijuana. There wasn’t any evidence to show that she knew about the cocaine delivery.