Drug trial begins for Metro officer who almost died

Kim Smith

Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2001 | 10:35 a.m.

The trial of a Metro Police officer arrested nearly two years ago on drug trafficking charges began Monday.

Officer Jon Aaron Brown, 31, was arrested in May 1999 after nearly dying from an overdose of the date-rape drug GHB. He was charged with drug trafficking and being under the influence of drugs.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Eric Jorgenson told jurors Monday that on May 25, 1999, Brown went partying with his sister, his sister's fiance and Lydia Gorzoch.

After having several drinks, Brown and Gorzoch went to Gorzoch's apartment. Five hours later Gorzoch called 911 to report that a Metro officer named Jon was unconscious and that they had been doing GHB.

When police arrived, however, Gorzoch said that everything was OK, that they had not been doing GHB and that she shouldn't have called for help, Jorgenson said.

The paramedics still came into the apartment to assist an unconscious Brown, and during that time he stopped breathing several times.

Unsure of what they had, police obtained a search warrant for Gorzoch's apartment, Jorgenson said. Inside they found two glasses with GHB inside, drugs used in the manufacturing of GHB and 108 grams of GHB inside a water bottle that had been hidden in Gorzoch's closet.

Jorgenson said they also found a recipe for GHB and evidence that seemed to indicate Gorzoch had been using her computer to order drug-making materials off the Internet.

Urine tests showed Brown and Gorzoch had Ecstasy in their systems, Jorgenson said. Brown also had GHB in his.

The glasses had Brown's fingerprints on them as well, Jorgenson said.

When he regained consciousness, Brown told police that the GHB must have been slipped into his drink at a nightclub by a man he had rebuffed.

Gorzoch, who has taken a deal and is awaiting sentencing, will testify she believes Brown accidentally ingested GHB, but willingly took the Ecstasy, Jorgenson said.

Defense attorney Kevin Kelly told jurors that Gorzoch, a topless dancer, would say anything to save herself. While she originally faced a mandatory life sentence, she could get probation because of the deal she cut with prosecutors. In addition to facing the same charges as Brown, she was also charged with manufacturing a controlled substance.

The last time Brown did drugs was 17 years ago, when he tried marijuana a few times over the course of one week, Kelly said. He advised Metro of that fact when he applied for the job.

Kelly told the jurors they will hear from other officers that Brown, who is on paid leave, is an excellent police officer who recently tested for sergeant, who excels in his academic pursuits and works out regularly.

Brown's disciplinary record is also unblemished, Kelly said.

The glasses have his fingerprints on them because they are the same glasses they were served at the nightclub and he held them as Gorzoch drove, Kelly said.

The trial is being heard by District Judge Joseph Bonaventure.