Ex-North Las Vegas firefighter sentenced in wife’s overdose death
A former North Las Vegas firefighter convicted in the drug overdose death of his wife said during sentencing Friday that his lengthy career as a first responder had afflicted him with trauma, leading to substance abuse and ultimately the loss of the “love of my life.”
Deputy Public Defender David Westbrook said that Christopher Candito, 34, also is a victim in a society that does not know how to care for its traumatized “heroes” beyond thanking them for their service.
The attorney argued that Candito likely never will live down the death of his wife and that probation would be sufficient punishment. Candito had a construction job and substance abuse treatment lined up in the outside world.
Deputy District Attorney Eckley Keach disagreed, as did the court.
“Not only is it important how we look at our heroes in the good times and the bad, it’s also important how we look at our heroes at the time they’re called to answer for the decisions that they made,” said District Judge Cristina Silva before handing Candito a 16-to-40-month prison sentence.
Silva said he qualified for in-prison drug addiction and mental health treatment and reduced 157 days off the sentence for time served.
‘Too little, too late’
Tiffany Slatsky, 25, overdosed on morphine on Feb. 22, 2020, in the couple’s Henderson home, according to Candito’s arrest report.
Instead of taking her to a nearby hospital, Candito drove her to his fire station 20 miles away, where he stole naloxone, an antidote that reverses the effects of opioids, and gave it to her. The couple returned home and went to sleep.
Health experts stress that the antidote only buys time and that the overdose can be triggered again if proper medical help is not sought.
Slatsky was unconscious when Candito woke up, police said. He attempted CPR and called 911.
“Too little, too late,” said Keach, noting that Candito, more than anyone, as a medic, should have known better.
Slatsky was declared dead Feb. 23 at St. Rose Dominican Hospital, Siena campus. The Clark County coroner’s office said that Slatsky died from multiple drug intoxication, including morphine, MDMA, phentermine, etizolam, cocaine and zolpidem. Her death was ruled an accident.
Candito said in court that his wife had not wanted to go to the hospital because she did not want to get in trouble with the law.
Keach called it “victim blaming,” adding that Candito only “did what was best to save his job.”
Investigators found evidence of drug transactions between Candito and two of his co-workers. There were messages about a drug-fueled party attended by firefighters in downtown Las Vegas two days before Slatsky died, police said.
Candito, who was arrested in July following a Henderson police and Drug Enforcement Administration investigation, also was accused of buying a plethora of illicit drugs in 2019 that he allegedly distributed at the party.
A grand jury indicted Candito in August on charges of second-degree murder and burglary, which were dismissed as part of a plea deal. In October, he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
“I’m sorry she’s not here today,” Candito, who appeared remotely from the Clark County Detention Center, told Slatsky. ”I wish so bad that I had been a better man.”
Family at sentencing
Teary-eyed and on the verge of breaking down, Slatsky’s parents and sister spoke about their loss. Slatsky’s son was 3 when she died and asks about her every day, they said. He has told them he wants to go to “heaven” to visit her.
She was not there for his first day of school and will not be there for the rest of his “milestones,” his grandfather Martin Slatsky said.
Tami Slatsky still picks up her phone to call her daughter and waits for her to walk to their home, where she still has a bedroom the way she left it. There will be no more “shopping trips” or holidays together, she said.
The married couple said they would sacrifice their own lives to be able to see, hug and smell their daughter again.
Mariah Maas broke down when she described her older sister, mentor and best friend.
“Tiffany is dead because she was not taken to the hospital by someone she trusted and loved,” she said.
Her mother hugged and kissed her teary face when she sat back down.
The Slatskys and Candito’s family declined to comment further.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickytwrites.
