Court records: Man accused of supplying drugs in jail death previously caught with hidden fentanyl pills

A man suspected of supplying the drugs that likely led to a death in the Whatcom County Jail and the hospitalization of another last week was already facing charges for bringing illegal drugs into the facility.

Angel Lewis Leffingwell, 38, of Everett, was charged on Feb. 28 in Whatcom County Superior Court with one count of possession of a controlled substance while in a correctional facility, a felony, according to court records.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge on March 8.

Leffingwell was initially arrested after he fled from Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputies following a traffic stop on Chuckanut Drive in late February. After the traffic stop, law enforcement found a ripped-open bag of methamphetamine and two blue pills suspected to be fentanyl in Leffingwell’s vehicle. They also found suspected meth on Leffingwell after he was detained, The Bellingham Herald previously reported.

Leffingwell was then booked into the downtown Whatcom County Jail just before 5 a.m. on Feb. 25, jail records show.

About 42 hours later at approximately 11:28 p.m. on Feb. 26, corrections deputies responded to the jail for a drug complaint involving Leffingwell, according to court records.

Corrections deputies had received a report of drug involvement in cellblock 2B, in cells 8 and 9. Leffingwell was removed from cellblock 2B while deputies conducted a cell search, the court records state.

During a search of Leffingwell, he removed a bag of suspected fentanyl pills from a body cavity and an additional suspected fentanyl pill from his mouth, according to court documents.

In total, Leffingwell had roughly 7.9 grams of suspected fentanyl-laced pills while he was incarcerated in the Whatcom County Jail, court documents state.

Leffingwell is also the person suspected of providing the drugs that resulted in one man’s death and another man being taken to the hospital following suspected overdoses in the Whatcom County Jail last week, The Herald previously reported.

Leffingwell has been arrested on suspicion of controlled substance homicide and possession of a controlled substance by a prisoner in relation to that incident. He is expected to make his first appearance in court on those charges Monday afternoon.

Twenty-eight-year-old Andre Haas was found dead in his cell in the downtown jail around 10:30 a.m. on March 13 from a suspected drug overdose. Haas’ cellmate, a 28-year-old man who has not yet been identified publicly, was taken to PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s hospital for treatment of a suspected overdose, The Herald previously reported.

The Herald has asked for a current update on the man’s status, as well as the cause and manner of Haas’ death.

Haas, the man taken to the hospital, and Leffingwell were housed in the same housing area, or cellblock, within the jail.

Leffingwell was the only inmate in the common area of the housing unit on March 13, while everyone else was in their respective cells, Megan Peters, a spokesperson for the Bellingham Police Department, previously told The Herald.

Leffingwell allegedly went back and forth between his cell and the cell where Haas and another man were housed, Peters said.

Around 10:18 a.m. on March 13, an uninvolved person also incarcerated in the housing unit pushed an alert to summon Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office corrections deputies. When deputies arrived, they found Haas and his cellmate unconscious and unresponsive, Peters said.

Deputies and members of the jail’s medical team attempted to use Narcan, or naloxone, and CPR to revive Haas, but were unsuccessful. Narcan is a medication used to reverse the effects of opioids, such as oxycodone, heroin and fentanyl, and is often used during suspected opioid overdoses.

Haas was pronounced dead at the jail.

His cellmate was taken to the hospital. As of Monday, his identity had not yet been released by law enforcement.

Haas’ death and the circumstances surrounding how Leffingwell obtained the drugs are under investigation by the Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Response Team, or LEMART, which is a multi-jurisdictional investigation team.