A Honolulu man will be held without bail before his trial on a charge that he supplied the fentanyl that killed a 27-year-old Ewa Beach man in August 2022.

Eric Pekala was indicted by a federal grand jury Aug. 24 on a charge of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth J. Mansfield granted the government’s motion Wednesday to detain Pekala before his Dec. 11 trial before U.S. District Court Judge Jill A. Otake.

Pekala was arrested Oct. 13 on Beretania Street by Honolulu police on a criminal contempt of court warrant stemming from a state case.

He was charged in connection with a fentanyl sale that ended in the death of Kaiser Dayuha, 27, whose body was found by his mother at about 6 a.m. on Aug. 7, 2022.

She discovered Dayuha in his car parked in the family driveway on Olowa Street in Ewa Beach and called 911.

Pekala allegedly sold the fentanyl to Rajesh “Ryan” Bhatti, who smoked it with Kaiser Dayuha and his brother, Jared.

Pekala entered a not guilty plea Oct. 13 in Mansfield’s court.

Bhatti entered a guilty plea Aug. 15 to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. He will be sentenced Dec. 13 in Otake’s court.

At the time Dayuha died, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Honolulu Police Department were conducting a “criminal investigation into Rajesh Bhatti and other identified and unidentified subjects” regarding the distribution of fentanyl and conspiracy, according to federal court documents.

On Oct. 3, 2022, DEA agents interviewed Jared Dayuha, who allegedly told them he’s known Bhatti for 10 years and that he is a drug dealer from whom he bought Xanax, spice and cannabis. He told the DEA agents he drove his brother and Bhatti 15 times to pick up fentanyl.

The night Kaiser Dayuha died, Bhatti told Jared Dayuha they were going to buy fentanyl and that Jared watched Bhatti and his brother smoke a pill before, according to the complaint.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marshall H. Silverberg is prosecuting the case for the government.

Pekala’s attorney Harlan Y. Kimura did not immediately reply to Honolulu Star-Advertiser requests for comment.

Honolulu police officers responding to the overdose call in August 2022 interviewed Jared Dayuha, who told officers that he drove his brother and Bhatti, whom he described as a friend, to the Ala Moana area at about 1 a.m. Aug. 7 where Bhatti and Kaiser Dayuha smoked fentanyl from foil, according to court documents.

Kaiser Dayuha passed out after smoking, his brother told police, and Jared thought Kaiser was sleeping when they drove back to Ewa Beach.

Bhatti left and Jared left his brother in the car when he got home, checked on him at 4 a.m. and thought he was still sleeping.