A former US Navy sailor and his wife have pleaded guilty in federal court to running a drug operation that sold fentanyl-laced pills disguised as oxycodone to active-duty crew members of the USS Abraham Lincoln, a case that included the overdose death of one sailor and the near-fatal overdose of another.
Bailey A. Szramowski, 29, and Johnnese H. Poomaihealani, 25, both former crewmembers of the aircraft carrier and both listed as residents of Hawaii, entered guilty pleas Monday to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
According to Szramowski’s plea agreement, he began selling cocaine and pills marketed as “Percocet” to fellow sailors no later than August 2022. The pills were sold as oxycodone but actually contained fentanyl, a fact Szramowski did not disclose to buyers, the agreement states.
On Dec. 30, 2022, a crewmember identified in court records only as A.N. purchased 10 of the pills from Szramowski. A.N. overdosed and died on Jan. 3, 2023. A coroner determined the cause of death was fentanyl ingestion.
Szramowski kept selling pills from the same supply after A.N.’s death. Ten days later, he sold three more counterfeit oxycodone pills to another active-duty sailor, identified as C.L., who suffered an apparent overdose and was hospitalized but survived.
Attempts to Cover It Up
Court records show Szramowski and Poomaihealani later pressured C.L. to lie to Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) investigators about where he got the pills, telling him to say they came from A.N., who had already died from the same batch.
“Look, do not . . . say ____ to NCIS okay, do not say anything to NCIS. That’s all you need to do. Just delete everything,” Poomaihealani admitted telling C.L.
C.L. did not comply and instead cooperated with investigators. Separately, Szramowski asked A.N.’s family to delete text messages he had sent to A.N.’s phone, warning that the messages could ruin his future or lead to criminal charges. The family refused.
Court records indicate Szramowski sold the counterfeit pills to at least two sailors while working alongside Poomaihealani.
Sentencing and Investigation
Szramowski faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, up to a 40-year maximum, and a potential $5 million fine. Poomaihealani faces up to 20 years in prison and a potential $1 million fine. Both are scheduled to be sentenced by US District Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro on Dec. 11, 2026.
The case was investigated by special agents and task force officers with Homeland Security Investigations’ San Diego Fentanyl Abatement and Suppression Team, a multiagency task force established in August 2022 to target criminal organizations smuggling and distributing fentanyl throughout San Diego County.
