Two former Navy sailors pleaded guilty Tuesday, Sept. 15, to selling counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl that killed one USS Abraham Lincoln crew member and hospitalized another.
Bailey A. Szramowski, 29, and his wife, Johnnese H. Poomaihealani, 25, each pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in federal court in San Diego, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California announced. The case was investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).
The drug pipeline ran directly through Coronado. According to court documents cited by Navy Times, a cooperating witness told investigators Szramowski purchased the pills by mail, received them at a P.O. box in Coronado and charged fellow sailors through CashApp. The Lincoln is home-ported at Naval Air Station North Island.
Prosecutors say Szramowski provided an active-duty Lincoln sailor with what he claimed was oxycodone in December 2022. The following month, that sailor, identified in court documents only by the initials A.N., overdosed and died of acute fentanyl intoxication while on leave in San Leandro, California. A toxicology report confirmed the cause of death.
Ten days after A.N.'s death, Szramowski sold three more of the purported oxycodone pills to another Lincoln sailor, identified as C.L., despite knowing A.N. had died. C.L. was hospitalized for an apparent overdose but survived.
C.L. told investigators that Szramowski and A.N. had been selling what they called Percocet pills to other sailors for about a year, including aboard the carrier during its 2022 deployment. Court documents state the pills were likely counterfeit.
After A.N.'s death, Szramowski and Poomaihealani called C.L. and told him to say he got the pills from A.N., not Szramowski, according to court documents. C.L. instead agreed to cooperate with NCIS.
Szramowski also allegedly directed A.N.'s family to delete text messages between himself and A.N. from A.N.'s phone. According to the federal complaint, he told family members he "might go down for murder" or it would "ruin his future," or words to that effect, if police found the messages. The family declined to delete them.
The couple was originally charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. They pleaded to the lesser single count.
Szramowski reported to the Lincoln in May 2021 after completing training at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois. He was promoted to logistics specialist third class in June 2024, more than a year after the alleged crimes.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 11. Szramowski faces five to 40 years in prison and up to a $5 million fine. Poomaihealani faces up to 20 years and a $1 million fine.
