Matt Capelouto has sought justice for his 20-year-old daughter, Alexandra, since her death in 2019, initially winning a civil lawsuit for wrongful death against the dealer and now securing the judgment in bankruptcy court.
"We are no longer, as a society, going to tolerate drug dealers killing our children," the father said.
Brandon McDowell has been behind bars since 2022 with a fentanyl possession conviction.
"He will be a free man in the year 2030, but he will not be free financially, because we are going to make sure if this man ever owns any property, these attorneys have already said, we will put a lien on that property, we will garnish his wages," said Capelouto.
Baruch Cohen, the Capeloutos' lawyer, said this was the first time a drug dealer has been held liable civilly for someone's death, to his knowledge.
"Here's the hope that this judgment will be the shot that's heard around the world, so to speak," Cohen said. "Because if it inhibits another drug deal from going down, where the drug dealer ... realizes that besides the jail sentence, he is liable for millions of dollars of damages, maybe he'll think twice."
McDowell, now 25, first pleaded guilty in California federal court in 2022 for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, a charge that carries a 20-year minimum sentence if linked to death or serious injury and convicted by a jury. McDowell was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Alexandra's father felt that wasn't enough. He and his wife, who was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer that year and has been battling it since, decided to sue McDowell for wrongful death.
"For taking somebody's life, that was not a fair sentence," he said. "I was going to pursue every means possible to make sure justice was served."
While McDowell filed for bankruptcy, the Capeloutos won a judgment of about $5 million against him. The Superior Court of Riverside County found he sold harmful narcotics with "willful and malicious" intent that lead to Alexandra Capelouto's death. A few months later, the Capeloutos filed another case in federal bankruptcy court to ensure that McDowell could not escape his debt under bankruptcy.
"Bankruptcy is designed for honest debtors, not crooked criminal debtors," Cohen said. "This judgment will haunt him the rest of his life, and when he does make money, we'll garnish it. When he does buy property, we'll put a lien on it."
Judge Mark Houle ruled in the Capeloutos' favor, ordering a $5.8 million judgment against McDowell that includes a year and half of interest in addition to the initial $5 million.
Since his daughter's death, Matt Capelouto founded the non-profit Stop Drug Homicide to advocate for families and push for more legislation to hold drug dealers accountable.
One is Alexandra's Law, which would require a formal warning be given to anyone with a drug-related conviction to inform them of the dangers of dealing drugs and that they could be charged with murder if they distribute drugs that lead to someone's death.
In California, it can be difficult for prosecutors to charge drug dealers with someone's death because they must prove the dealer had knowledge that the drugs could cause death, Capelouto said.
Having an admonishment on the record for dealers who have been convicted of a drug-related crime could be used as evidence in future cases if someone dies from the drugs they sold. Alexandra's Law is included in Proposition 36, a tough-on-crime ballot measure that Californians will vote on in November.
Capelouto is also part of a group of 60 families suing Snapchat for its role in the distribution of deadly narcotics. Alexandra Capelouto and McDowell had communicated over Snapchat when she bought pills from him.
Justin McDowell, Brandon's father, said it is unfair for his son to take all the blame. He said his son was struggling with drug abuse and had been in rehab, and he didn't live with him at the time because the McDowells had younger children.
"My son is no drug dealer at all. They were both users. They both had an addiction," he said. "He was a stupid 20-year-old kid."
Justin McDowell said he felt like the Capeloutos were seeking revenge through their lawsuits, and he did not have the money and resources to fight on his son's behalf in court. Brandon McDowell was being held at the federal prison in San Pedro during the lawsuit and did not have lawyers to defend himself in civil or bankruptcy court.
"I think that's sad, that shouldn't be allowed," Justin McDowell said. "We'll wait for him to get out of prison, give him a hug, and figure out how to deal with the situation ... the kid's never going to make $5.8 million in his life."
Matt Capelouto said there was no evidence of his daughter having a drug addiction, and Brandon McDowell's addiction does not absolve him of responsibility in her death.
"When you go from drug user to drug dealer, you cross a line from needing help to needing to be held accountable," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.