On September 20th, two men were arrested in relation to the death of a teenage girl in Hernando County. The girl was found unresponsive and not breathing in a bathroom when officials arrived on the scene. Hernando County Fire Rescue then transported her to the hospital, where she later died.
The two men at the scene, 18-year-old Joshua Ware and 24-year-old James Briski were interviewed by detectives. Their questioning revealed that Ware arrived at the Bancroft Avenue residence, where the incident occurred around midnight, with the girl already unconscious. It is believed that Ware brought the girl to Briski because he was a drug dealer. Ware and Briski carried the victim from the car into the house, placing the girl in a bathtub filled with water, ice, and packages of frozen food to reduce her body temperature.
It is a myth that an ice bath or cold shower will help during an overdose. An ice bath will cause a person’s body temperature to change too quickly, which may put them into shock and cause their body to shut down instead.
After being put in an ice bath, the girl’s condition continued to worsen. She was having trouble breathing and was unable to communicate. Around 3:30 AM, the girl stopped breathing. Two minutes after the girl stopped breathing, the men called 911. Before the police got to the scene, Ware had disposed of the cocaine and removed the frozen food bags from the bathtub. He then started to perform chest compressions until emergency medical responders arrived.
During the detective’s investigation, Briski told them Ware had Xanax and cocaine in his car.
Both men were charged in connection with the girl’s death. Briski was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and possession of cocaine. He was then transported to the Hernando County Detention, where his bond was set at $30,000.
Joshua Ware was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, and trafficking in fentanyl. He was also transported to the Hernando County Detention, where his bond was set at $170,000.
This is not the first time that Joshua Ware has been in the news. In November of 2021, Joshua Ware was reported missing after being seen getting into a silver sedan as he was leaving the Youth Family Alternative Center in Spring Hill. Ware had an active juvenile pickup order for failure to appear on a vehicle burglary charge when he went missing. Ware was also known to stay in a tent in a wooded area near County Line Road and Shady Hills Road in Pasco County.
