Man Hears Verdict, Takes Cyanide, Dies

A 53-year-old Pacific Beach man swallowed cyanide pills in court and died at a hospital Wednesday after a jury convicted him of drug charges that would have landed him behind bars for at least 25 years.

Donald Shantos, who had turned down a plea bargain that called for only five years in prison, took the cyanide about 11 a.m., moments after a U.S. District Court jury convicted him of possessing methamphetamine and of conspiracy.

While the jury was asked to confirm its verdict, Shantos--sitting at the defense table--slid the pills into his mouth, began gurgling and slid to the carpeted floor, witnesses and federal marshals said. He had brought the pills into the courtroom in a vial that he took from his picket.

A note Shantos left indicated that he had taken massive amounts of cyanide, authorities said. He was taken to Mercy Hospital where he died seven hours later.

Shantos said in the note that he feared prison, authorities said. Once an informant, he said he feared either retribution from prisoners or the isolation of being separated from other inmates.

Under rigid federal sentencing guidelines, Shantos would have gotten 25 to 30 years in federal prison, said his attorney, Craig Weinerman.

“Being 54 years old, you don’t need to be a math wizard to figure out that you’re going to spend the rest of your life in prison,” Weinerman said.

“All I can say is, it’s a case where an informant went bad,” U.S. Atty. William Braniff said.

When that became apparent to the Drug Enforcement Administration, “they unhesitatingly pursued the prosecution against him,” Braniff said.

Shantos was as an on-again, off-again informant for the DEA from 1987 through 1990 who helped put at least five people in prison, Weinerman said.

In late 1989, DEA agents suspected Shantos was not only tipping them off but trying to sell methamphetamine himself, Weinerman said.

After a three-month probe, he was arrested Feb. 9, 1990, after accepting delivery of five pounds of the drug from a Lakeside man on whom he had been informing, Weinerman said.

Shantos, the lawyer said, believed he was working only for the DEA and intended to turn over the methamphetamine to agents.

Shantos had remained free on $150,000 bail. He suffered from depression and took prescription medicine for his condition, Weinerman said. The vial containing the pills appeared to be a prescription bottle, officials said.

It remained unclear Wednesday where Shantos had obtained the cyanide. An autopsy is scheduled today.