Monterey pub owner’s suspected overdose death sparks police investigation and arrest.

The suspected overdose death of Monterey pub owner Christine Kerr has triggered a police investigation that saw a Seaside man arrested on suspicion of providing the drugs that may have killed Kerr.

Kerr, 49, was found dead on Aug. 20, a Monterey County Sheriff’s official confirms, at a home in the Deer Flats neighborhood in Monterey. Kerr was co-owner of the popular Bulldog Sports Pub on Lighthouse Avenue, which announced Kerr’s passing on Aug. 29.

The Monterey Police Department subsequently launched an investigation to determine where the drugs that may have caused Kerr’s death originated. On Aug. 25, Monterey and Seaside police officers arrested 42-year-old Carlo Aiken in Seaside, where they say they discovered him in possession of 16 suspected counterfeit oxycodone tablets believed to contain fentanyl, as well as large quantities of cocaine, MDMA, psilocybin mushrooms, lorazepam tablets and a homemade “ghost gun” assault rifle.

Aiken was booked at Monterey County Jail on felony charges including possession of a controlled substance while armed, possession of controlled substances for sale, and possession of an assault weapon, according to Monterey County Chief Assistant District Attorney Berkley Brannon. Though Monterey PD said Aiken was also arrested for involuntary manslaughter in connection to Kerr’s death, Brannon says authorities have yet to “establish the timing of a sale to the victim” and that no such charge has been filed.

The absence of an involuntary manslaughter charge saw a judge reduce Aiken’s bail, initially set at $1 million, to $200,000 at an Aug. 29 arraignment hearing in which he pled not guilty, according to Aiken’s attorney Kimberly A. Barnett. Aiken was released on bail on Aug. 31. A preliminary hearing in his case is set for Nov. 3.

“I think the facts will show that my client was not supplying [Kerr with drugs] in any way,” Barnett says. “My client was good friends with her and adored her.”

Kerr’s cause of death will not be determined until the final results of an autopsy and toxicology report are received, according to authorities. What is clear is that drug overdoses have become a worsening problem, both locally and nationwide, amid an ongoing opioid epidemic that saw nearly 110,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2022, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That rising toll is widely attributed to the proliferation of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid found in the form of counterfeit pills or mixed into drugs like methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine. There have been 52 fentanyl-related deaths in Monterey County in 2023 to date, according to data provided by the Sheriff’s Office – up from 41 in 2022 and only 12 in 2019. Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges says his department has already made 35 fentanyl-related arrests this year, up from 28 arrests in 2022.

Those who knew Kerr say the England native and longtime Monterey resident was beloved by friends and Bulldog patrons, many of whom will gather at the pub at 611 Lighthouse Ave. for a celebration of her life from 4-8pm on Saturday, Oct. 7. “She was a beloved person and dynamic force behind Bulldog, and will be greatly missed,” the pub said in an announcement.