Man who delivered cocaine that killed Tri-City teen is headed to prison
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Alexander James Bautista agreed to a plea deal in the 2024 overdose death.
- Bautista was sentenced to prison and probation. He will also pay restitution.
- The teen died from a cocaine-alcohol mix; fentanyl, meth and THC were also present.
A Kennewick man will spend the next three years in prison for his role in a 2024 fatal drug overdose.
Alexander James Bautista, 26, agreed to a plea deal Thursday in the death of a Richland teen who was buying drugs in Pasco.
He was sentenced to three years in prison and one year on probation for the relatively rare charge of controlled substance homicide. This was only the second time prosecutors had filed the charge.
Franklin County Superior Court Judge Bronson Brown agreed to an exceptional sentence below the standard range of 51 to 68 months.
Prosecutors asked for the lesser sentence in part because they say it is similar to another recent case with a plea for three years in prison and also because the teen’s death was attributed to Cocaethylene, a mix of alcohol and cocaine that can lead to fatal heart attacks.
Bautista also was likely unaware of the cocaine being cut with other drugs. He also overdosed after using the cocaine with the teen.
Sylvester “Lil Ves” Muldrow, 18, also had THC, fentanyl and methamphetamines in his system, according to court documents. The pathologist believed the simultaneous use of all the drugs and alcohol caused his death. It is likely he drank alcohol and used THC prior to getting the cocaine.
Bautista also will have to pay restitution, but the amount has not yet been determined. Brown ordered Bautista to be immediately taken into custody.
Charges against co-defendant Jaidin Ramirez, 24, were dropped last year.
Ramirez’s attorney, Katherine Bohnet, argued at that time that the only evidence linking her to the crime was Bautista using her phone.
Fatal overdose
The two were accused of delivering cocaine to Muldrow, who was found dead in a car in Pasco several hours later.
Pasco police investigators said Muldrow and a 20-year-old female friend used cocaine on Sept. 19, 2024 and wanted more the next day.
Messages found on Muldrow’s phone show he contacted someone using a social media app, and then drove from Richland to Pasco to meet them at a supermarket.
Bautista got into the back seat of the car 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.
Bautista was found unconscious on a bathroom floor.
