COMEDIAN Fuquan Johnson has been found dead after an apparent drug overdose, according to reports.
The Los Angeles-based comic, 42, had been at a party in the Venice neighborhood on Friday night where he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight, TMZ reports.
Two other people were also found dead. In a post to social media, the Ha Ha Comedy Club said one of those people was comedian Enrico Coangeli.
The third person has not yet been identified.
A fourth, identified by TMZ as comedian and model Kate Quigley, is reportedly in hospital.
Investigators believe Johnson, Quigley, and the two others consumed cocaine that had been laced with fentanyl.
Read our updates on Fuquan Johnson in the live blog below …
-
FRIENDS POST TRIBUTES
Tributes have already started pouring in with one writing on the social media platform: “I lost two important people in my life last night. They were my friends, my old roommates, my co workers, my brothers.
“Thank you both for always believing in me when nobody else would. You guys both always had my back, I miss you both so much. Rest In Paradise! I love you @mybadfuu @ricovonrico forever! You guys will never be forgotten!!”
-
WHO WAS ENRICO COLANGELI?
While information surrounding the deaths continues to be investigated, Colangeli was known as a fellow comedian that performed at the Ha Ha Comedy Club.
According to his Instagram page, he also ran a podcast called the Parishioners Podcast.
No additional information is available at this time.
-
PLANNED AUTOPSIES
Autopsies will be carried out on each of the three dead to determine their cause of death. However, investigators suspect they consumed a batch of cocaine that had been laced with fentanyl.
The LAPD’s homicide department has been notified about the case, though it’s unclear whether they’re involved with the investigation at this time.
It’s not known who brought the laced drugs to the party or in what capacity they were used or passed around.
-
‘THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS’ POUR IN
Other friends have extended their well-wishes and prayers to Quigley as she continues to recover.
Among them was Jamie Kennedy, who tweeted: “What happened in the LA comedy scene this weekend was an absolute tragedy. My heart goes out to the families of the deceased.
“Please send positive vibes to @KateQFunny for her to pull thru. We love u Kate.”
“Praying for @KateQFunny,” added Nicky Paris. “I was literally performing on a show with her the night before.
“Please continue to send her all of your best wishes and LOVE. My deepest condolences to those lost and their families.”
-
TEXTS FROM KATE QUIGLEY OBTAINED
A fourth person, actress and comedian Kate Quigley, 39, was found unresponsive but alive inside the apartment.
She was rushed to the hospital in critical condition but is expected to survive.
In a text message to a friend on Saturday evening, she wrote: “I’m alive. I’m not great. But im. Ok.”
-
HOW DID ENRICO COLANGELI KNOW FUQUAN?
Colangeli was friends with all three of the attendees at the Venice apartment.
Enrico Colangeli was also co-workers with Furquan Johnson. The two worked at the HaHa Comedy Club together.
The news of the incident was broken by the club who posted on their Instragram “We lost two Haha Family Members.”
-
LUKE BARNETT SHARES TRIBUTE TO FRIEND FUQUAN
-
COMMENTS FROM COLANGELI’S COUSIN
Colangeli’s cousin Maria Spencer spoke to the The Sun over the passing of Enrico.
She stated “Enrico (Ricky) was incredibly loved by his entire family, and we’ll miss him more than words can describe,” she said.
Spencer stated that her whole family felt pained by the passing of ‘Ricky’
“We loved Ricky dearly and his death is leaving a hole in our hearts that is somewhat comforted by knowing he is now at peace in the arms of his loving parents, Lynda and Rico, who we lost in 2019.”
-
WHO ELSE WAS FOUND DEAD?
Of the three found dead, one was comedian Enrico Colangeli. Enrico “Rico” Colangeli, 48, was found dead next to fellow comic Fuquan Johnson, 42, and friend Natalie Williamson, 33.
A fourth person was found at the apartment, Kate Quigley, 39. However Quigley is expected to survive.
The four are believed to have consumed a fentanyl-laced cocaine powder and overdosed.
-
MORE OVERDOSES
Last week, at least eight people in Long Island’s North Fork had overdosed, leaving six dead.
None of the victims were over 40 and cops said their deaths were caused by cocaine laced with fentanyl.
The victims were: Fausto Rafael Herrera Campos, 25, Navid Ahmadzadeh, 30, Seth Tramontana, 27, and Nicole Elizabeth Eckardt, 34, Matthew Lapiana, 32, and Swainson Brown, 40.
-
FENTANYL-LACED COCAINE
Investigators believe Fuquan and three of his friends all consumed a batch of cocaine that had been laced with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is more than 50 times more potent than heroin.
Autopsies will be carried out on Johnson, Colangeli and Williamson this week to confirm their official causes of death.
-
MILLION-DOLLAR HOME WHERE FUQUAN JOHNSON DIED REVEALED
Fuquan Johnson, 42, had been at a party on Venice Canals at the home of comedian and model Kate Quigley on Friday night where he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight, TMZ reported.
Quigley’s property, seen in photographs obtained by The Sun, last sold for $1,050,000 in 2012, but is now worth more than $1.8million, according to online records.
The two bed two bath home offers stunning views of the canal, with large open windows, a modern through kitchen and lounge and a private deck and outside seating area.
-
WILL DEATHS BE INVESTIGATED AS HOMICIDES?
It’s unclear at this time if the deaths, which authorities believe were caused by ingesting cocaine laced with fentanyl, will be investigated as homicides.
LAPD’s homicide unit has reportedly been notified about the tragic situation.
-
QUIGLEY IS A RESIDENT OF A PROPERTY NEARBY
The owner of the apartment where Fuquan Johnson, Kate Quigley, and two others were found is currently unknown.
However, Quigley is reportedly a resident of an adjacent property next door to where a 911 call was directed to, according to TMZ.
They were found in a home in the Venice neighborhood of L.A.
-
‘A DARK CLOUD’
Stand-up comic Kennelia Stadwick said that Johnson’s death has cast a “dark cloud over the LA comedy community.”
“We’ve been getting hit with some BIG losses and it needs to stop already,” she wrote.
“It was nothing but love. For the last few years his greeting for me would be “a mothaf**kin Black Queen!” and I appreciated that so much. One, because it was authentically him and Two, he was cussin’ and that was always so funny to me.
“Hands down, one of the realest dudes out here.”
-
‘LIVED LIFE ON OWN TERMS’
Fellow comic Nick Alexander eulogized Fuquan in a tweet on Saturday night: “What can I say about [Fuquan].
“You loved & lived life on ya own terms. Never gave a damn what people thought about you cuz you were solid within yaself and a real Jerzey n***a. We gonna miss you Fu Rest In Power Fuquan Johnson. Hit em with Fu Facts in the afterlife!!”
-
‘LIFE IS SO SHORT’
Actor Page Kennedy posted a lengthy statement on Instagram, along with a picture of Fuquan.
“Life is so short. It leaves quick as a fall. Without notice. Without time to say good bye or i love you. I implore you to tell the people you love that you love them. @mybadfuu i told you this already so i know you know. I love you brother and will miss you.
“Thank you for the laughs. Thank you for always being there when i call you and need you. Rest well my bro and leave those angels alone up there bro, or at least save some for me.”
-
AUTOPSIES TO BE CARRIED OUT
Investigators will be conducting autopsies on Johnson and the other two dead partygoers in the coming days to determine a specific cause of death.
Preliminary evidence suggests they consumed cocaine that had been laced with fentanyl, which is a powerful synthetic opioid that is several times more potent than heroin.
-
WHAT WAS FUQUAN JOHNSON KNOWN FOR?
Fuquan Johnson, 42, was a staple on the LA comedy circuit and had been performing for more than 10 years before his death.
He also appeared on the TRUTV’s Laff Mobb’s Laff Tracks as well as All Def Digital’s website in several web series, some of which he wrote.
-
WHAT HAPPENED?
Authorities believe that Fuquan Johnson, Kate Quigley, and two others consumed cocaine that had been laced with fentanyl at a party on Friday night.
All four were reportedly unresponsive or already dead when police arrived on the scene.
Johnson and the two others, one of whom has been named by friends as EnRico Coangeli, died while Quigley was hospitalized in critical condition.
-
ANOTHER COMIC IDENTIFIED AS VICTIM
According to a social media post from the Ha Ha Comedy Club, another one of the victims of the suspected fatal overdoses was comic EnRico Coangeli.
-
FUQUAN JOHNSON’S CHILLING LAST TWEET
Fuquan Johnson said he was “so high” in a chilling tweet just hours before he died of a suspected drug overdose.
“I’m so HIGH I just TRIED to SHAMPOO my body,” the comic wrote in the Thursday tweet.
Investigators believe Johnson, model Kate Quigley, and the two unnamed dead partygoers consumed cocaine that had been laced with fentanyl.
-
OVERDOSE DEATHS UP DURING THE PANDEMIC
An estimated record high of 93,331 Americans died of overdoses last year, according to statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The startling figure represented the sharpest annual increase in overdose deaths in at least three decades, with deaths up 30 percent on the estimated 72,151 recorded in 2019.
Data shows that the surge in deaths in 2020 was driven largely by the proliferation of fentanyl.
-
WHO SUPPLIED THE DRUGS?
Police have not yet given an update on who they believe supplied the drugs to Fuquan Johnson and the other deceased people.
The comedian and two others died, reportedly from ingesting fentanyl-laced cocaine. Kate Quigley was hospitalized in critical condition.
It’s also unclear if anyone else who was at the party was affected.