Heroin overdoses in Trumbull

By RENEE FOX

Tribune Chronicle

WARREN ä The number of suspected heroin overdoses over a six day period in the county increased to eight over the weekend, county coroner Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk said Monday.

The problem is apparent in Trumbull Countyás biggest municipality, Warren, where there were four arrests for heroin possession between April 3 and 5. There were no arrests for trafficking in heroin.

Also in Warren, there was at least one suspected heroin overdose that led to the death of a 32-year-old York Avenue man, according to police records.

âThere was a strong suspicion of heroin overdose in this case and other cases,ã Germaniuk said. âBut we will not know for sure until the results of a tox(icology) screen come back in eight weeks.ã

Clint Beaver was discovered by his father, who told police his son, âis a known heroin addict and he knew this day was coming.ã

Germaniuk said sometimes family members sanitize the area surrounding the place a loved one died of a drug overdose, removing evidence to preserve the memory of the deceased. Sometimes police donát know a death was a result of a drug overdose.

But, when they do, law enforcement officials are asking police in all area departments to investigate the scene like any other crime, tracking down evidence and determining where the fatal dose came from.

The fatality associated with the heroin problem in the city may be exacerbated by the fact that city police do not carry Narcan, an antidote to opiate overdoses.

âWe want to provide our officers with Narcan,ã Chief Eric Merkel said. âBecause of its high cost, we may only be able to get it into the hands of supervisors.ã

Germaniuk said that for every body that comes to the morgue after an overdose, four to six people are treated for an overdose that he or she survives.

Jeffery Orr of the Trumbull Ashtabula Group Law Enforcement Task Force said a Monday meeting on the topic was closed and used to discuss undercover tactics, but that area law enforcement agencies will be coming together soon to help plan tactics to quell the epidemic of heroin use in the area.

âThere are a lot of methods we are using in TAG that I think some departments arenát aware or havenát been taking advantage of,ã Orr said. âWe want to share that information.ã

Orr said when his task force becomes aware that heroin is being sold out of a house, it is only ethical to allow it to stay open for a couple of weeks to collect evidence of drug trafficking.

Waiting more than a month to raid the house, while allowing police to collect more evidence for court, can lead to overdoses, Orr said.

Orr said the task force would gladly welcome the city of Warrenás participation in TAG effforts, and welcomes the department to consider rejoining the task force. The police department created a street crime unit a few years ago, removing its representative from TAG.

âIf we are overwhelmed by the issue, and we are, the city has to be worse off,ã Orr said. âWe have more resources, officers and money, to combat the problem.ã

In Trumbull County Common Pleas Court last week, there were six indictments for heroin possession and six for possession of other drugs or paraphernalia, there were 30 indictments total. Those charged individuals are due to be arraingned Thursday. There were no indictments in that court for trafficking drugs.

rfox@tribtoday.com