A second man allegedly at the top of the fentanyl supply chain that led to the fatal overdose of a young Pearl City man was charged in connection with the death Thursday.

A federal grand jury found there was probable cause to charge Matthew McBraun, aka “Debo,” 36, with one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.

His trial is scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 17 before U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright. McBraun was previously charged by criminal complaint Oct. 12 with a single count of distribution of fentanyl in connection with the Oct. 9 death of the Pearl City man. He has state felony convictions for robbery and theft.

McBraun’s attorney, Crystal K. Glendon, declined comment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Nammar, who is prosecuting the case for the government, declined comment.

Sixty people died of fentanyl overdoses in Hawaii in 2022, according to the state Department of Health.

On Oahu, 55 people died of fatal fentanyl overdoses between 2017 and 2021. Between October 2021 and September, emergency medical services technicians responded to 132 fentanyl overdoses statewide, 44 of them on Oahu, 24 in September alone.

On Oct. 9 the Honolulu Police Department contacted the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration about a suspected overdose, and agents arrived at about 2:45 p.m. when the victim was identified by his grandmother.

The Honolulu Fire Department tested a substance found near the victim’s body that was confirmed as fentanyl, according to federal court documents. The DEA and HPD opened an investigation into the death of the “young resident” and found the person who told police and federal agents that he got the fatal dose from another person before giving it to the victim on Oct. 7.

Authorities have declined to release the name, age or any other information about the victim.

Bronson Kepa‘a, 38, of Pearl City, was arrested and charged Oct. 17, and authorities say he told them that McBraun was his source for the drugs and he was the middleman between McBraun and the victim. Kepa‘a was charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl and a firearm offense.

On Oct. 11 a cooperating person set up a drug sale between McBraun and DEA agents. After he was arrested, McBraun told federal agents he was under the influence of a controlled substance when he allegedly sold Kepa‘a the drugs on Oct. 7, according to federal court documents.

Kepa‘a, McBraun and other “identified and unidentified subjects” were the targets of a joint investigation by the DEA, HPD and other law enforcement partners. The investigation targeted distributors of controlled substances, including methamphetamine and fentanyl; money laundering; and conspiracy, according to federal court documents.