Former Officer Charged After 15-Year-Old Girl Dies In His Pittsburgh Residence

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A former law enforcement officer and narcotics detective was arrested in his Pittsburgh home on Wednesday after the 2017 death of his 15-year-old niece, who lived at his house.

The teen died of a fentanyl overdose on July 27, 2017, at the Beechview home she lived in with the suspect, 43-year-old David Bondi.

"The heroin and opioid epidemic is devastating our communities and destroying lives," Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. "This child was living just inches away from these poisons, demonstrating how they can make their way into homes and put the lives of our families and children at risk."

Shapiro announced criminal charges against Bondi of Realty Avenue. He was formally charged with endangering the welfare of a child, prohibited delivery of a controlled substance, and other related charges including reckless endangerment and possession.

"He's been under an incredible amount of stress," Casey White, the attorney for Bondi, told KDKA. "Him being arrested today and taken out of his home given the facts and the issues as far as the investigation goes that we know about quite frankly, we're surprise."

Bondi was charged following a Grand Jury investigation, which concluded that Bondi repeatedly purchased and introduced fentanyl into the residence he shared with the child for his personal use.

"My Office is committed to leveraging every resource at our disposal to fight this public health crisis," Shapiro said. "I'm grateful for the diligent work of the Allegheny County Police Department to seek justice for the children who are suffering from the effects of this epidemic."

During the course of the investigation, detectives observed used stamp bags marked "XXX" in blue ink, other used bags, three full stamp bags of heroin/fentanyl, and a syringe in the teen's bedroom. In the defendant's room, across the hallway and within five feet of the teen's room, detectives recovered dozens of syringes and hundreds of stamp bags.

Although Bondi claimed that the teen never came into his room and never stole from him, some of the bags recovered from the defendant's room matched the bags found in the teen's room, including those with the "XXX" blue ink stamp. The defendant's door did not have a lock on it.