On Friday, a 24-year-old Hyattsville man pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Montgomery County for supplying fentanyl and cocaine that led to the fatal overdose of 17-year-old Aiden Vining; he faces up to 10 years in prison, with sentencing set for February 12, 2025.
According to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, “Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, before the Honorable Sharon Burrell, defendant, Cesar Alexander Lopez, 24, of Hyattsville, pleaded guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter for the death of 17-year-old Aiden Vining. Lopez faces up to ten years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 12, 2025.
On October 24, 2023, a family member found the victim unresponsive in his bedroom when they tried to wake him for school. Fire Rescue attempted lifesaving measures but ultimately the victim, Aiden Vining, was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers located a straw with white residue on the scene and a round blue pill labelled “M 30” in Vining’s wallet. These types of pills are often referred to as Percocet, percs, erks or 30s on the street. The Office of the Chief Medical examiner performed an autopsy and ruled the cause of death to be Cocaine and Fentanyl Intoxication.
Defendant, Cesar Alexander Lopez was arrested following an investigation by Montgomery County Police. On October 23, 2023, phone messages between the defendant and victim indicated they arranged for the victim to purchase ten “percs.” Subsequent investigation revealed that Vining had also purchased cocaine from the defendant three days prior to his death.
Assistant State’s Attorneys Jennifer Harrison and Kimberly Cissel with our Overdose Prosecution Unit are handing prosecution of this matter. “We are experiencing heartbreaking loss in our community due to fentanyl overdoses. We must continue to work on educating our youth, in particular, about the dangers of street level drugs. The DEA tells us seven out of every ten pills seized contain a lethal dose of fentanyl,” said State’s Attorney John McCarthy.”