A Madison man was arrested at a tattoo parlor last Thursday for allegedly selling the heroin that resulted in the death of a Stoughton woman last year.
Ian E. Kies, 46, was taken into custody at Capitol City Tattoo, 1349 Williamson St., after police received a tip about his whereabouts from a caller who had previously seen his picture in a newspaper.
Kies has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide in connection with the fatal overdose of Cheryl Fosdal, 37, who was found dead in her Stoughton apartment in October 2007. Police believe he may also be responsible for the overdose death of Marlin “Wizzard” Everson, who died last December.
Kies was also charged with manufacturing and delivery of cocaine and heroin, as well as with the possession of heroin, marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms with the intent to deliver.
According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, this type of reckless homicide is issued under Wisconsin’s Lens Bias law, which holds illicit drug suppliers responsible for the deaths of those who used their drugs.
Such cases are common, he said, and occur several times a year in Dane County.
Two notable heroine overdose cases occurred near campus in the last three years, said Verveer. In one, a young woman was found dead on Langdon Street in 2005, and in the other a woman was found dead on her porch on a house near Capitol Square.
But Ald. Marsha Rummel, District 6, said this sort of incident doesn’t happen very often in her district.
“I haven’t heard of any similar incidents,” she said. “I don’t think this is a particularly troubled area. I think he just found a place to do it and did it there.”
Verveer said that though it is possible for these types of cases to have some bearing on students, students should be more worried about other crimes that are happening around campus that more directly affect them.
“Heroin is a tremendous opiate addiction. I think luckily very few college students are wrapped up in that addiction, so I don’t think that this case directly relates to many UW students,” Verveer said. “I think students should be more concerned about the rash of violent robberies and, to a lesser extent, the burglaries.”