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Convicted steroids dealer David Jacobs found dead in Plano home |
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Written by JASON TRAHAN and RICHARD ABSHIRE / The Dallas Morning News
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Thursday, 05 June 2008 |
Convicted steroids dealer David Jacobs, who recently agreed to tell the
NFL which football players received banned substances he manufactured,
was found shot dead in his Plano home this morning.
The body of Amanda Jo Earhart-Savell, 30, and a gun were also found at
the home. Mr. Jacobs and Ms. Earhart-Savell had been engaged in the
past, and had broken off and re-established their relationship several
times.
Police received a missing-person call this morning shortly after
midnight from Ms. Earhart-Savell's family, said Plano police spokesman
Rick McDonald. The family said she might be at the house on Honey
Creek.
Police arrived to find Mr. Jacobs, 35, and Ms. Earhart-Savell dead
inside from gunshot wounds. Authorities were not saying whether this
was a murder-suicide.
"We're not speculating," Officer McDonald said. "It's a high-profile case. They're not going to leave anything unturned."
About 11:30 a.m., four men in raid jackets with "police" on the back
and wearing ski masks - undercover officers - arrived at the busy scene
and entered the home carrying a cart to carry materials.
The Dallas Morning News spoke to Mr. Jacobs frequently and exchanged
e-mails with him as recently as this weekend. He was interested in
getting on with his life after accepting a plea deal for three years of
probation on charges related to his steroids trafficking.
Mr. Jacobs said he wanted to rebuild his nutritional supplement
business, but he was having trouble getting his old client base to work
with him. He also was having financial problems, but the former Marine
seemed to be in good spirits.
On May 21, he said he was moving forward with plans to speak to school
students about the risks of steroids use. "They are being scheduled
now, everyone is really supportive!" he wrote in an e-mail.
Reached at his home in Atlanta, Mr. Jacobs' father, David Arthur
Jacobs, said he feared something bad would happen to his son in the
wake of his steroids case. "I've been waiting on this call," he said.
Art Atwood, a nationally noted body-builder and former close friend of
Mr. Jacobs, is himself awaiting sentencing on charges related to
steroids trafficking. He said Thursday such stresses and pressures are
"a recipe for disaster."
He described Mr. Jacobs as a passionate man. "Whatever he did it was one hundred percent. Full blaze on."
His attorney, Hank Hockeimer, said early Thursday he had not yet been briefed on the situation at the home.
About a year ago, investigators with the Food and Drug Administration's
office of criminal investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration
and others shut down Mr. Jacobs' steroids network, which was described
as one of the largest in the country.
Mr. Jacobs imported raw powder from China and made steroids, which he
sold through a network that investigators believe could be one of the
largest in the U.S.
A day after The Dallas Morning News first reported on his case, Ms.
Earhart-Savell posted an entry about Mr. Jacobs on her MySpace blog. "I
love u with all my heart and so proud of u! keep your head up baby
doll!"
On May 21, Mr. Jacobs met with NFL security officials to share information about steroids use and their football players.
Mr. Jacobs has publicly accused ex-Dallas Cowboys lineman Matt Lehr of
buying large quantities of banned substances, but has never for the
record named the names of other football players who received the
steroids he manufactured.
Mr. Hockeimer said this of the meeting at the time:
"The general topic was his knowledge of steroid and human growth
hormone use by current and former players. They were thorough in their
questioning. David provided them with documents corroborating what he
was telling them."
Mr. Hockeimer would not say which players were discussed. But he said
Mr. Jacobs provided documentary evidence of claims he was making.
At the time of Mr. Jacobs' alleged transactions with Mr. Lehr, the
football player was playing for the Atlanta Falcons. He is now signed
with the New Orleans Saints.
Mr. Lehr's attorney, Paul Coggins, has said prosecutors have informed
him that Mr. Lehr will not be indicted in the Jacobs case. Mr. Coggins
has said Mr. Jacobs has "peddled these tales to the government
unsuccessfully" and has said prosecutors do not plan to indict his
client.
Federal agents were investigating Mr. Lehr for alleged distribution to
other players, but have not commented on his status, other than to say
the case is ongoing.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Thursday that league representatives interviewed David Jacobs on two occasions.
"We are reviewing the information to determine if there is documented
evidence establishing any violations of our program and will follow up
on any other information that is provided," he said. "We offer our
sympathy to the families of David Jacobs and Amanda Jo Earhart-Savell."
Mr. Aiello said it would be premature to comment on any specific player
at this time. "Anyone found to have violated our policies will be
subject to discipline, including suspension," he said.
He said Mr. Jacobs was not paid for the information.
One of the areas of interest to the NFL was Mr. Jacobs' allegation that
players use a hair-loss-prevention drug that can also act as a masking
agent for steroid use.
He said that in 2006, Mr. Lehr used such a medication, and Mr. Jacobs
said federal investigators confiscated a bottle of that medicine given
to Mr. Jacobs by Mr. Lehr.
The label bore an NFL team logo, along with Mr. Lehr's name, Mr. Jacobs said.
The use of finasteride, sold under the trade names Propecia and
Proscar, has been reviewed by the National Football League, but has not
been banned. It is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which
oversees international competition such as the Olympics.
Outside the Sherman federal courthouse, having just been sentenced on
May 1, Mr. Jacobs, 35, said that he wanted to share his knowledge of
testing loopholes and the prevalence of performance enhancing-drug use
with the NFL to "clean up" the game.
His six co-defendants were either personal trainers or amateur
bodybuilders. Ms. Earhart-Savell was not indicted or in any way
connected to the case.
But she later paid the price for standing by Mr. Jacobs, who was
persona non grata in the close-knit bodybuilding community because he
was perceived as a "snitch." Also a body builder, she expressed
frustration earlier this year when she was not invited to an
international body-building competition named after Arnold
Schwarzenegger.
Mr. Jacobs said she felt she didn't make it into the competition because of her association with him and his legal case.
Ms. Earhart-Savell discussed the situation without being too specific
in a February blog entry: "I have moved forward even though yes, it
hurts, because it was a huge dream of mine taken away.....it is what it
is ... I would never change my personal life to please a judge or anybody
for that matter."
A few weeks ago, attempting to turn things around after his legal
troubles ended, Mr. Jacobs was thrilled at the positive response to an
online audio interview he gave. "There are many facets to everything,"
he said. "God I really do need to write a book..."
Staff writer Todd Archer contributed to this report.
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