A deadly drug operation aboard one of the U.S. Navy’s most powerful warships has ended in federal court, after two former sailors admitted selling counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl to fellow service members.
Bailey A. Szramowski, 29, and his wife, Johnnese H. Poomaihealani, 25, pleaded guilty in federal court in San Diego to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. The case centers on pills sold to sailors assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln, including one sailor who later died from acute fentanyl intoxication.
The case is especially disturbing because Poomaihealani served as a Navy master-at-arms, a position associated with law enforcement and security duties. Court filings identified her as a petty officer third class. Instead of simply being an outsider bringing drugs near a military installation, she was a member of the force responsible for maintaining order within the Navy community.
According to federal prosecutors, Szramowski obtained counterfeit pills through the mail and received them at a post office box in Coronado, California. He then distributed the pills to other sailors, including during the USS Abraham Lincoln’s deployment. Investigators also learned that payments were made through Cash App.
