Recovering family shares story of drug downfall
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

SYLVIE BELMOND/Acorn Newspapers STARTING OVER- Curtis Fay and his wife, Alyssa, hope to move back home in Moorpark soon. The couple was arrested last summer on various charges, included running a meth lab, being under the influence of a controlled substance, and child endangerment. They are sharing their story so that others can avoid the damaging effects of taking drugs.

Curtis Fay had everything going for him. He was newly married and had a baby son. He owned a plumbing company and business was good

But once acquaintances introduced Fay to methamphetamines, he quickly began to lose his professional reputation and his possessions, and his family life began to fall apart.

"Drugs took my life over," Fay said.

In a warning to others about how drug use can devastate families, Curtis and Alyssa Fay decided to share their personal story of tragedy and its aftermath with the Acorn Newspapers.

"I want to help other people realize that addiction will sneak up on you and there's a lot to lose. You hurt people around you more than you think," Curtis said.

His young wife, Alyssa, also started to use methamphetamines, albeit much later than Curtis.

"She was innocent until I brought the wrong people into her life," Curtis said.

Both Curtis and Alyssa grew up in Thousand Oaks. Curtis' mother died when he was 10 years old, and his father wasn't around. Curtis grew up without much adult guidance, said Alyssa's grandfather, Tom Vlachos, who remains supportive despite Curtis' mistakes.

Curtis, 37, and 21-year-old Alyssa were arrested at their Moorpark home last summer. Curtis was accused of operating a methamphetamine lab in his house on Marquette Street and was charged for being under the influence of methamphetamines and having possession of related drug paraphernalia.

Both Curtis and Alyssa were charged with child endangerment, and each went to jail for about two months.

The Fays lost custody of their baby son, Michael, who was taken by county children's services and placed in the care of Alyssa's parents.

Once released from jail, Alyssa and Michael went to an inpatient program for 60 days. Following that, the baby was returned to Alyssa's parents in Thousand Oaks, pending a custody hearing in March. Both Curtis and Alyssa are in outpatient treatment programs now, they said.

A recovering alcoholic who's been sober on and off throughout his adult life, Curtis began taking methamphetamines about three years ago. The gravity of the situation didn't hit Curtis until he went to jail, he said.

Meth is extremely addictive, and some people only need to take it once before they get hooked, Curtis said. Once addicted, users can't be rational, he said.

"We weren't arrested- we were rescued," Curtis said.

"It was blessing in disguise," said Alyssa.

But while Curtis and Alyssa are trying to recover from their mistakes, Greg Vlachos, Alyssa's father, feels that authorities are creating obstacles that could hinder their efforts.

Both the Moorpark police and the city have been on Curtis' case unjustly, Vlachos said. "What he did to himself is bad, but what happened with the Moorpark Police Department and the city is beyond that."

According to Vlachos, authorities have been continually hounding Curtis since the arrest. "They overzealously went after him," he said.

The Fays are living in a trailer now because they can't go back home.

Curtis filed for bankruptcy in an effort to keep his house in Moorpark and because he's been unable to pay his bills. But he can't return home because the county locked down his house, even though the district attorney didn't find enough evidence to prosecute him for making methamphetamines, Vlachos said.

The city is requiring a toxic waste team to clean the house, but that's costly and unreasonable, said Vlachos.

"Two wrongs don't make a right. Curtis and Alyssa are doing everything they can to better themselves, so the city's actions are beyond comprehension," he said.

Any time law enforcement suspects there is a methamphetamine lab, the issue becomes an environmental health concern because the chemicals used to process the drug are dangerous, according to Moorpark Police Detective Will Hammer.

"These are unfortunate circumstances for Fay," he said.

Moorpark city officials, who indicated they can't discuss details of the case because it's ongoing, said the county is also involved because of the drug lab issue.

According to Erin O'Connell, supervising environmental health specialist for the Ventura County Environmental Health division, Curtis Fay "was either making or attempting to make methamphetamines in his residence. Simply because the district attorney chose not to p r o s e c u t e doesn't mean that he wasn't, in fact, manufacturing it," she said.

Ephedrine and solvents were found in Curtis' home, O'Connell said, evidence of chemicals necessary to make methamphetamines.

Curtis denied the allegations. The solvent was full of grease and used to clean equipment, not to make drugs, he said. The paint thinner was on his tractor outside, and the only thing they found was Sudafed pills, Curtis said.

"If you get caught with at least two items to make methamphetamines, you go to jail for at least six years, and that didn't happen," he said.

The county maintains Curtis had highly toxic chemicals at home with a child present.

In January 2006 the state passed a law requiring county health officials to make homes in which illegal drugs are manufactured inhabitable, O'Connell said.

Curtis Fay's house still needs to be tested and cleaned up, which is the responsibility of the owner, she said.

"At this point, the situation is not entirely in Fay's hands because he may lose the house," she added. The county is now waiting to see who will own the home. Then officials will begin to work with the owner of the home, whether it's the bank, Fay or someone else.

Until authorities have analytical proof that the property is free of contaminants, they will maintain the lockout and a lien on the property, O'Connell said.

According to Curtis, authorities also took his work tools, which haven't been returned. But Hammer said Fay is now permitted to recover these items.

"The problem is he thinks we also took a generator that belongs to him, but that wasn't the case," Hammer said.

"Police gather the evidence and turn it over to the district attorney's office," said Sr. Dep. Ed Tumbleson of the Moorpark Police, who was speaking on a general basis, not regarding this particular case.

Once officials have completed their investigation, the property is returned to the owner, but when things are taken as evidence, they can't be released until the court tells authorities to do so, Tumbelson said.

Curtis believes the county and the Moorpark police are acting as if they were above the law.

"The district attorney said there was nothing there, so they should drop it," he said.

Even though he believes authorities have been hard on him and arrested him unjustly several times after the drug incident, Curtis takes responsibility for his problems, he said.

"This is what will happen to you in life if you get on the wrong side of the tracks. It's hard to get out," Curtis said. "If I hadn't done drugs, none of this would have happened. I take total responsibility because I jeopardized my family," he said.

Curtis said he's learned his lesson and wants to start living a productive and happy life again.