Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Daniel Birtic, one of two suspects in the overdose death of Alex Hopping, pleads guilty to first-degree reckless homicide for his role in the crime.
A Waukesha who supplied heroin that later killed a Wauwatosa teenager has pleaded guilty for his role in her death. Daniel Lee Birtic, 24, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of first-degree reckless homicide for providing heroin to Alexandra Hopping, 19, who overdosed and died in her home April 18, 2011. A second defendant, Edwin Esteves, 33, is slated to stand trial in the case June 4; however, he will make his final pre-trial appearance Tuesday where he could also potentially plead guilty. The men were charged under the state’s Len Bias law after Wauwatosa police officers conducted a six-month investigation into Hopping’s death inside a home in the 1800 block of North 70th Street. The conditions of Birtic's plea arrangement were not …
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Mother, stepfather learned too late the warnings but worked steadfastly to save Alex Hopping.
This is the third installment of a series of stories on the overdose death of Wauwatosa's Alexandra Hopping, and the police work that led to the arrests of two men in connection with her death. _______________________________ Christa Lewis’ two daughters were, she says, “night and day from birth.” Monica has always been studious, focused, diligent almost to a fault. She is pretty but never put much stock in looks compared to books. Alexandra was ever the free spirit, headstrong, an artist who lived in the moment — sometimes furiously and infuriatingly so. She was more than pretty. She was a stunning beauty, cat-graceful, cat-charming and cat-conniving. She was known for a wickedly delicious sense of humor. “They split my personality,” …
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Text messages revealed enough to put detectives on the hunt for two drug dealers.
- POLICE & FIRE
- Jim Price
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011
This is the second installment of a series of stories on the police work that led to the arrests of two men in connection with the overdose death of Wauwatosa's Alexandra Hopping. _______________________________ Based on interviews with her family, Wauwatosa police knew Alexandra Hopping had been using narcotics for three years before she died at 19 of a heroin overdose on April 18. But according to her mother and stepfather, she had been through several rehab programs and had been drug-tested regularly since last October. They were fairly certain she had been clean for six months – which may ultimately have been a factor in her death. A flurry of text messages exchanged on her phone in the two days before she died was all Wauwatosa police…
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
In 'Len Bias' case, the man from Waukesha and a man from Milwaukee were the alleged dealers who supplied her with the heroin that killed her.
- POLICE & FIRE
- Jim Price
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011
A young woman is found dead in her home in Wauwatosa. Two men are charged with causing her death, although there is no solid evidence that either one of them ever so much as touched her. Rather, they are charged with selling her the heroin that killed her in an overdose, under what is called the “Len Bias law.” And it isn’t the first time. “We’ve had three previous cases,” said Wauwatosa Police Capt. Jeff Sutter, “and we have two more under investigation. “We’ve been a little bit secretive about it up to now – not because we didn’t want people to know there was heroin in Wauwatosa, but because we didn’t want the bad people to know our methods and how closely we were investigating them. “But we’ve decided it’s time people knew. It’s here. …
Anonymous
8:54 pm on Sunday, August 19, 2012
I dont disagree with the fact that Birtic has to take some responsibility and serve some time. Where i get aggravated in this is why charge him with a homicide charge? ok we all agree delivering drugs is wrong so why not a delivery of narcotics charge? Everyone knows and agrees that no one ever forced Alex(bless her soul) to put the needle in her arm. Now for the rest of Dans life, when he moves … more ›