In Connection With Jacobsen Death—

Suspect Pleads Not Guilty To Drug Charges

By Andrew Gorosko

On Tuesday in Bridgeport Superior Court, a Texas man pleaded not guilty to two drug charges stemming from his allegedly having provided an illegal hallucinogenic drug to a Newtown teenage girl who died after taking the drug at a condominium complex in Monroe in late May.

In court, Quentin Ham, 22, of North Richland Hills, Texas, and formerly of Newtown, pleaded not guilty to two counts of distribution of a hallucinogenic substance, which is a felony. Ham elected to have a jury trial on the pending charges.

On June 7, Monroe police arrested Ham on the drug charges in connection with the untimely death of Danielle Jacobsen, 17, of Tunnel Road, Newtown.

It was the hallucinogenic drug known as DMT that police say Ham gave to Jacobsen which allegedly led to her untimely death. Ms Jacobsen’s body was found floating in a small pond near the Northbrook Condominiums housing complex on Northbrook Drive, off Route 25 in Monroe, on the morning of May 30.

Jacobsen, a Newtown High School senior, had been scheduled to graduate with the Class of 2010 last week.

Monroe police Lieutenant Brian McCauley said, “The [police] investigation determined that prior to her death, Danielle Jacobsen was provided with a hallucinogenic substance known as DMT at a gathering in a condominium near the pond where her body was found. It was further determined that Quentin Ham … was the person who distributed the DMT to those individuals at the condominium.” The police investigation showed that Mr Ham had transported the DMT from Texas.

The drug DMT is a potent hallucinogen and is classified as an illegal drug by the US Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

It is unclear if more charges will be filed against Ham in connection with Monroe police’s continuing investigation into Jacobsen’s death.

A spokesperson for the Chief State Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday that the office is awaiting the results of toxicology tests in its investigation into the cause of Jacobsen’s death. An autopsy was performed on Jacobsen’s remains on May 31.

On the evening of May 30, Newtown police arrested Ham on multiple charges following an incident in the area near Newtown Shopping Village on Queen Street. Police said they had responded to a report that the allegedly suicidal Mr Ham was nearby.

Police located Mr Ham in a field between the shopping center and Trinity Episcopal Church, after which they charged Mr Ham, who had allegedly threatened suicide, with carrying a pistol without a permit, second-degree reckless endangerment, and second-degree breach of peace. Mr Ham allegedly was distraught over Jacobsen’s death.

Ham is being held on $220,000 bail at the Bridgeport Correctional Center on the five charges which are pending against him.

Ham is scheduled to appear on July 13 in Bridgeport Superior Court on the two drug charges. He is slated to appear on July 9 in Danbury Superior Court on the three charges stemming from the May 30 Newtown incident.