NEW HAVEN –Former Wesleyan student Zachary Kramer, 21, of Maryland, who was charged in connection with distributing controlled substances that led to a number of drug overdoses at Wesleyan University, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday.
In May, a federal grand jury in New Haven indicted Kramer and Eric Lonergan, 22, of Brazil with distributing controlled substances that caused multiple Wesleyan University students to overdose in February.
Kramer is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 10. Prosecutors are recommending one year to 18 months in prison.
Lonergan is expected to plead guilty on November 23.
Five people were arrested on state charges in February in connection with the overdoses. A dozen people were admitted to hospitals, two of them in critical condition, after apparently using “Molly” on Saturday, February 22.
Molly is a synthetic version of MDMA, a powdered form of ecstasy, and is a popular party drug. Students who attended a party at the university’s Eclectic Society, located at 200 High St., were those who were exposed to the drug. But, federal drug tests later revealed the drug was not MDMA, it was another powdered substance called AB Fubinaca.
According to the indictment, Lonergan and Kramer were students at Wesleyan. In November 2013, Lonergan began purchasing and redistributing Molly. Investigators say he sold Molly from his dorm room between 5 and 9 p.m. during most nights.
The drugs were sold at approximately $200 per gram.
In 2014, after the administration at Wesleyan sent out a campus-wide communication warning of the dangers of ingesting controlled substances like Molly, the indictment says Lonergan distributed a pamphlet instructing students on the use of psychedelic drugs. Also in 2014, Kramer began purchasing Molly from Lonergan and distributing it to students at Wesleyan.
The indictment says that Kramer took over for Lonergan in 2015. They say he provided the Molly on February 21 to 11 people, 10 students. Two of the students were in critical condition, and one of those students had to be revived after his heart stopped. After that event, law enforcement officers seized the substance and sent it to a toxicology laboratory for testing. Laboratory analysis confirmed that the powdered substance contained AB Fubinaca.
They are both charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute MDMA and AB Fubinaca, and one count of attempted distribution of MDMA and distribution of AB Fubinaca. Each of these charges carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of up to $1 million. The indictment also charges them with distribution of MDMA within 1,000 feet of a private college, a charge that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of one year, a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years, and a fine of up to $2 million.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press
