A man accused of plying his daughter’s sleep-over friends with sedative-laced smoothies must be monitored by GPS tracking, a Clackamas County judge ruled Monday.
The Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office sought to have Michael Meyden, 57, tracked to ensure he stays away from the three girls he’s accused of drugging and their Lake Oswego school.
“It’s an added level of security so the victims know that Mr. Meyden is not coming anywhere near them,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Bryan Brock said.
The request came from the girls’ families after Meyden attempted to take his own life in March by overdosing on medication, Brock told Circuit Judge Katherine Weber during a brief hearing. Court records show Meyden was hospitalized after overdosing on the sedative Lorazepam.
Brock said Meyden’s apparent attempt to harm himself prompted the victims to worry “that they’re not safe either.”
Meyden already agreed not to have guns while the case is pending.
Meyden’s lawyer, Jeff Turnoy, told Weber that Meyden hasn’t violated any court-imposed conditions while his trial is pending and that there’s no evidence he’s ever gone near the girls’ homes or their families.
He’s in counseling, Turnoy said, and is “fostering stable relationships” with his ex-wife and children.
“Quite frankly, nothing really has changed that would cause any additional fear such that Mr. Meyden would need to be GPS tracked,” he said.
Meyden faces charges of causing another person to ingest a controlled substance and application of a controlled substance to the body of another person, stemming from his alleged conduct while hosting his daughter’s sleepover last August at the Lake Oswego home where he lived at the time.
Court records allege he laced mango smoothies with benzodiazepine and served the drinks to his daughter’s friends. The affidavit written in support of a search warrant doesn’t explain a motive.
During a search of the home, investigators seized computer equipment, a Vitamix blender, a hand-held blender, reusable straws, a mortar and pestle, bottles of a sedative called Temazepam and an opioid painkiller called Tramadol, court records show.
Temazepam is a benzodiazepine used to address insomnia and anxiety and, medical experts say, can cause too much sleepiness, loss of consciousness and can obstruct the airway.
Lake Oswego began the investigation after being called to the emergency room at Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel in Portland where three girls tested positive for benzodiazepine.
According to court records, the girls told police they attended a sleepover the night before at their friend’s home and suspected Meyden had given them drugs, leading them to feel groggy and even blacking out.
An affidavit written by Lake Oswego police Detective Nicole Palmeri states that Meyden served each of the girls two smoothies each. One girl drank both. One finished one of the drinks and the third girl sipped from a straw “to be nice” but she barely drank any, the affidavit says. Meyden gave each of them their own straws and then later grew upset when he thought his daughter and one of the girls were switching straws, the affidavit states.
The court filing says the girl who left most of her smoothie recounted for police what happened next, describing how he returned to the basement as the other girls slept and moved her arm and then moved her friend’s body. She told police she stayed awake afraid Meyden was going to harm her friend, according to the affidavit. At one point, the record notes, she said she saw Meyden place a finger under her friend’s nose to see if she was asleep and waved his hand in her face.
The girl, identified in court records by an initial, was terrified and repeatedly texted and called her parents, saying “Mom please pick me up and say I had a family emergency. I don’t feel safe. I might not respond but please come get me (crying emoji), Please. Please pick up. Please. PLEASE!!” She then called and texted several friends asking for a ride.
Investigators saw the text the girl sent a family friend. The girl’s message said Meyden “kept moving us away from each other but kept doing tests to make sure we weren’t awake,” according to the affidavit. She texted that one of the girls “won’t wake up,” the filing states.
The court record says the girl saw Meyden return to the basement a third time and he “seemed drunk.”
The family friend drove her home; she woke her parents who woke the other girls’ parents. They picked up the two other friends still at Meyden’s house, court records say.
Meyden’s next court appearance is later this month.
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