AVON, Ind. — An Avon freshman is dead after a suspected drug overdose.
Noah Pillow died over the weekend, his family confirmed to school leaders. Pillow is the second Avon student to have died in recent months from an overdose.
"It's a devastating situation, such a young life tragically lost," Hendricks County Sheriff's Department Capt. Amanda Goings said.
Pillow was a freshman at Avon High School and played on the Avon club lacrosse team.
His family shared with the school district he died from an overdose. They released a statement Tuesday reading in part:
Noah’s death is a stark reminder that mental health and substance abuse are a national crisis many of our children face. We hope his story will shed light on this problem and prevent other families from experiencing such a tremendous loss. We are committed to working to save lives by making sure there are more youth-centered programs to ensure our children receive the help they need so that they are equipped to live their lives to the fullest.
Principal Matt Shockley sent out a message to Avon High School families saying, in part, "At Avon High School, we are deeply saddened by the loss of this young man."
His death comes after a 15-year-old Avon student died in March after taking pills believed to be laced with fentanyl.
"Any loss of human life is obviously a tragedy, but when it's the life of a young person who had their entire life ahead of them, it makes it especially difficult for the officers who investigate. I'm a mom myself, so just from a human perspective, these cases are really hard to see," Goings said.
In Hendricks County, Goings said they're seeing an increase in drugs on the street, and they can be deadly. But Hendricks County isn't alone — the rise of fentanyl has made drugs deadlier around the country.
The DEA reports six in every 10 fake prescription pills contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.
Now, deputies with the Hendricks County Sheriff's Department carry Narcan in all patrol units. Often, Goings said, one dose isn't enough.
“One of the things we’re seeing with fentanyl, as opposed to heroin, is the fentanyl is taking multiple doses of Narcan to be effective in some cases. So our officers do carry Narcan and multiple doses for that exact reason,” Goings said.
Investigators will need to wait for the toxicology results to come back from the lab to determine Pillow's official cause of death, but Goings said his death is a heartbreaking example of just how serious this drug epidemic has become.
"The days of buying an illicit substance off the street from a trusted person, there's no such thing as that anymore, regardless of where you fall on the legalities of illegal drugs. The fact of the matter is, if you take one illegal pill or one counterfeit pill, it could be the last mistake you ever make," Goings said.
The Avon School District said crisis counselors were onsite Monday to support students and staff.
The district has also been planning a public workshop on addiction, recovery, mental health and substance abuse that will be held Thursday, May 18 at the Avon Middle School North Auditorium at 7 p.m..
Noah's family's statement
We are devastated and heartbroken over the sudden loss of our beloved Noah. During his 16 years in this world, Noah brought light and life into every room he entered. He was inquisitive and a talented artist with an analytical mind. He loved competing with the school lacrosse team. Most of all, he was affectionate and never shied away from giving and receiving love.
Noah’s death is a stark reminder that mental health and substance abuse are a national crisis many of our children face. We hope his story will shed light on this problem and prevent other families from experiencing such a tremendous loss. We are committed to working to save lives by making sure there are more youth-centered programs to ensure our children receive the help they need so that they are equipped to live their lives to the fullest.
We would like to thank the entire Avon community school district for their support. As our family continues to mourn Noah’s death, we respectfully ask for privacy during this most difficult time.
Student's death in March
In March, a 15-year-old student's suspected overdose led to multiple arrests on drug dealing charges and one suspect facing a murder charge.
Police believe the pills the teen's friend bought were laced with fentanyl.
Court documents allege 38-year-old Kyle Rudman, of Avon, and a juvenile suspect dealt drugs laced with fentanyl to teenagers — a potent and deadly synthetic cocktail put into a pill. Police believe it led to dire consequences for the 15-year-old student at Avon High School.
Police said they found a plastic bag with pills labeled "M 30" on his nightstand, plus a tightly rolled paper tube with powder residue and a quarter of another blue pill.
Police said the teen's friend told them the evening before that the two boys bought 10 "perc 30s" or "M 30s" from a juvenile for $100 at an intersection in Avon.
He told detectives they each tried an eighth of a pill that looked like Percocet. Police said it was actually a fake, laced with fentanyl.
The next day, the boy's friend was gone.
After getting a search warrant, police went to the suspect's home, where they spoke with Kyle Rudman and the teen suspect.
The teen suspect told police he knew there was fentanyl in the pills he gave to a high school student.
At the home, police found two pill bottles, one with more than 100 blue pills labeled with "M 30" and the other with seven pills labeled with "Xanax."
Detectives also seized an empty baggie, digital scale, small notebook with names and numbers, USPS shipping box with 11 boxes of THC vape cartridges, and a brown wallet that had an Indiana ID card for Kyle Rudman and two small plastic baggies containing a white powder substance.
The teen suspect told police that after school, Rudman drove him to another student's house, where he sold him "like 11" pills for $100.
The teen suspect then told police he has been buying pills from another guy on Snapchat for more than a month and uses CashApp to pay him.
The teen suspect also said he's sold THC vape pens to 10-15 people at Avon High School.
On March 16, police searched the teen suspect's phone, which confirmed the illegal drug transactions.
Police also found multiple text messages between Rudman and the teen suspect that discussed buying and selling illegal THC vape cartridges.
Another text message between the teen suspect and Rudman showed the teen asking Rudman to buy him psilocybin mushrooms and Xanax because the teen said he knows a lot of people who like them.
Police then arrested the teen suspect and Rudman.
Rudman confirmed he knew the THC vape cartridges were being sold to minors.
Rudman also told police he has been buying approximately one gram of heroin every few days from another person at a pub on the west side of Indianapolis.
Rudman was then taken to the Hendricks County Jail and has been charged with the following:
- Dealing in a narcotic drug to a minor
- Dealing in a Schedule IV controlled substance in the presence of a minor
- Neglect of a dependent
- Dealing in marijuana with the sale intended for a minor
- Contributing to the delinquency of a minor, resulting in death
- Possession of a controlled substance
- Possession of marijuana
Police confirmed Rudman is not being charged in the victim's deadly overdose.
The teen suspect was also arrested and taken to the Hamilton County Juvenile Center on multiple charges, including dealing – resulting in death.
Third suspect arrested
Avon police made a third arrest in the case Wednesday at a hotel on the west side of Indianapolis.
Trevor Strickland, 24, of Plainfield, was on arrested on charges of murder - kills while committing/attempting dealing/manufacturing cocaine/narcotic drug, dealing/manufacturing meth and dealing a schedule I, II, III, IV, or V controlled substance.
At the time of his arrest, police said Strickland had nearly 1,000 tablets of "M 30" pills suspected to contain fentanyl, more than 26 ounces of additional narcotics, more than $18,000 in cash and a loaded handgun.
Court documents allege he used Snapchat to set up drug deals.
Teens told detectives "Trev," as they knew him on Snapchat, distributed to "multiple high school kids" who attend Avon High School.
The juvenile who was arrested told detectives he'd been buying "M 30" pills from "Trev" for about a month to a month-and-a-half. He also told police he's selling THC vape pens to 10-15 people at Avon High School.
The DEA warns most pills not bought from a pharmacy just aren't what they seem.
Gannon said two major cartels are responsible for flooding the U.S. with fake pills containing fentanyl. They kill and they're in nearly every Indiana community.
"Never in the history of our country has there been a more dangerous time than it is now to use drug illegally," Gannon said, "because you're risking your life every time."
Avon Community Schools shared a statement with 13News about the high school students death:
"Last Wednesday evening, Avon Police informed us an AHS student had died. We are deeply saddened by this loss. We made additional mental health professionals available to support our students and staff through the remainder of the week. The family remains in our thoughts and prayers."
Click here for resources and information for parents to talk to their kids about substance abuse.