OXFORD, Miss. (WMC) – The cause of death for two Ole Miss students was revealed in court proceedings Friday.
In court, one of the defense attorneys for two men charged with selling narcotics said one student died from a combined use of various substances, including cough syrup. The other student died from inhalation asphyxiation.
A federal judge ruled Yahya Mosleh will remain in custody, finding he is a flight risk with ties to another country.
The judge also stated that Mosleh has been in communication with the stores owner, Amer Alowdi, who is a fugitive and believed to be in Egypt, according to an agent who testified Friday.
Mosleh’s son, Islam Mosleh, was granted a $20,000 bond with conditions including a curfew and location monitoring.
The two students, 18-year-old Aidan Hamilton and 20-year-old Robert Strang, died on on Monday, September 21.
(L-R) Aidan Hamilton and Robert Strang(Families)
Investigators allege that Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in Oxford, where both Moslehs worked, sold Hamilton the pills twice in the days before his death.
While officials believe it was Puffs that sold Hamilton the narcotics found in his system, they say Strang bought his pills from a different store outside the county 20 miles away.
After the deaths, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics agents sent a confidential informant into Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in Oxford to investigate the alleged sales of illegal substances, according to the arrest affidavit.
The informant asked if the store sold “7-OH Kratom-based pills.”
Records show the clerk said yes before warning the informant to “be careful taking the pills, because people are dying from them.”
Oxford police then executed a search warrant at the store, and 500 units of kratom and kratom-like products were seized. An assortment of “THC cartridges, gummies, pre-rolls, and other suspected THC substances” was also recovered.
During the raid, detectives found the same brand of Smax Mango Breeze MGM-15, with identical packaging, ingredients and a $39.99 price tag with a smudge on the 9, at the store that had been found near Hamilton.
According to court records, a toxicology report, which has not been made publicly available, shows both victims had the same three substances present–Mitrogynine, MGM-15 and MGPI–which are all featured in the Smax Mango Breeze pills.
Only one witness testified Friday during the hearing at the Oxford Federal Courthouse.
Caleb Easter is an agent with the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit. He said the investigation started on September 21 when he received a call.
Easter said that call was for a possible deceased young male at Stewart Hall at the university.
Easter stated when he arrived, personnel already pronounced the male dead, his body had already started entering rigor mortis, he had white foam around his mouth and blood around his teeth.
Easter said the roommate of the young man had only met him a short time ago during move in and only knew he smoked a lot of marijuana.
An hour later, Easter said he received another phone call of another young male unresponsive off campus.
“Victim 2 had not been deceased quite as long.” said Easter. “Still had same white foam.”
The victims families provided law enforcement with photo copies of bank records. According to Easter, victim one spent $87.18 at Puff’s Vape on September 20.
Victim two Spent $43.59 at Puff’s Vape also on September 20 according to Easter. Both purchases were made the day before the two students deaths.
In closing, federal prosecutors stated “this case comes from several tragic overdose cases of students here in Oxford… evidence supports the detention… victims died of conditions consistent to overdoses.”
Prosecutors stated that the defendants were aware of their actions selling the illegal drugs.
Easter testified that Yahya told the confidential informant doing a controlled buy for the narcotics unit that the drugs are dangerous and students died but sold them anyway.
The prosecution said “they pose a serious danger to this community.”
The judge determined Yahya Mosleh will remain behind bars as the case plays out. Islam, his son, will be released on a $20,000 unsecured bond with conditions.
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