Police in Texas have arrested six people after an unusual string of drug overdoses in which nine people died and nearly 80 people died last week.
Austin police arrested Ronnie Lamar Mims, 45, Marcellus Dion Barron, 30, Canadi Arcangelo Rimijo, 32, Gary Joseph Lewis, 50, and Dennis Horton, 47. Guy Len Allen, 27 years old.
FOX 7 Austin Six people reported being charged with felony possession or delivery of a controlled substance, according to court documents.
But at a news conference Tuesday, Austin Police Lt. Patrick Eastrick told reporters that none of the suspects in custody are directly related to last week’s overdose victim.
More than 60 people overdose, eight die, as ‘unusually deadly’ opioid incidents continue in Texas capital
Ronnie Mims booking photo (Austin Police Department)
Around 9 a.m. on April 29, Austin-Travis County emergency personnel began responding to a sudden spike in opioid-related calls.
The calls originated from downtown Austin and then began spreading throughout the city.
Austin Chief Deputy Medical Director Dr. Heidi Abraham said at the time that paramedics could respond to two to three overdose calls on a typical day. On April 29, crews responded to at least 30 calls, but by the end of the week they had responded to 80 overdose calls, resulting in at least nine deaths.
“We haven’t seen this type of spike in overdoses since we responded to K2 in 2015,” Austin-Travis County EMS Capt. Krista Steadman told FOX 7.
UT Austin Governor releases anti-Israel activists who said they should be in prison
Dennis Houghton booking photo (Austin Police Department)
In response to the spike, Eastrick said members of the Austin Police Department’s Organized Crime Unit, Narcotics Assistance Unit and other departments have begun conducting targeted undercover operations in areas where overdoses are on the rise. Stated.
Specifically, the study focused on the downtown area, North Austin and South Austin.
Although the undercover operation resulted in a number of drug-related arrests, Eastrick wants to make it clear that none of the people arrested during the investigation were connected to the overdose. Thought.
Utah state president defends shutdown of anti-Israel demonstrations: ‘Our rules are important and will be enforced’
Gary Lewis booking photo (Austin Police Department)
“The aim of these operations was to identify the responsible dealers and the source of the drugs that caused the overdoses,” he said.
Eastrick said they also seized a variety of drugs during the operation, including crack cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, including fentanyl.
The department said it doesn’t often encounter marijuana laced with fentanyl, but it has seen it in the past.
“This is a concern for us, not just with marijuana, but with all substances that are mixed with fentanyl. And it’s a concern that everyone should have when consuming illegal drugs,” Eastrick said. said. “And that’s one of the risks he…does he really not know what’s in there?”
Suspect charged in fatal crash at Texas DPS office, possible $2 million bail
Canaday Rimijo reservation photo (Austin Police Department)
Law enforcement theorizes that when buying crack cocaine, dealers end up mixing it with other substances, such as fentanyl, to make larger quantities and make more money. Eastrick explained.
That means fentanyl could have been mixed into the batch between people selling crack cocaine to other dealers and then to buyers.
“These mixtures are not done in a lab, so there is no scientific approach,” Eastrick said. “So there could have been too much fentanyl … getting into these substances and causing the overdoses that we saw.”
Historically, he said, many of Austin’s drug dealers were not part of major organized crime and were seen as selling on the streets or trying to make a profit for themselves.
According to court documents obtained by FOX 7, when APD arrested Mims, he was suspected of having cocaine laced with fentanyl in his pants, which was discovered after he administered Narcan to the man he was with. Mims was charged with possession of a controlled substance, a third-degree felony.
Virginia’s First Lady and AG Team Launch Work with Recovering Addicts to Target the State’s Fentanyl Crisis
Marcellus Balloin reservation photo (Austin Police Department)
Lewis and Horton were allegedly in the car with bags of drugs and are suspected of distributing the drugs and receiving money from the dealers. Marijuana in the vehicle tested positive for fentanyl, and the two were arrested and charged with second-degree felony possession of fentanyl.
The station also reported that Rimijo and Baron were arrested on suspicion of selling crack cocaine to an undercover police officer. Rimijo reportedly had marijuana in his jacket pocket, and all drugs in his possession tested positive for fentanyl.
Rimijo faces a first-degree felony count of being a controlled substance, and Barron faces a second-degree felony count of being a controlled substance.
Mexico’s lead detective apologizes for ‘inappropriate’ comments about country’s fentanyl production
Police and emergency services in Austin, Texas, received an unusually high number of calls for drug overdoses last week. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Allen was the sixth suspect arrested, and police say he was with another man when the two were involved in a homeless and drug transaction. Officers allegedly found methamphetamine-laced marijuana in Allen’s car in a drug-free zone near the daycare center, and Allen was charged with first-degree felony possession with intent to distribute.
Mr Eastrick advised the public to be aware of suspicious activity in the community and to contact police if they see anything concerning.
He also had a message for those selling drugs in Austin.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Please stop. Stop spreading the poison that is impacting our community,” Eastrick said, adding that police do not know what is being sold or how.
Opioid overdoses returned to typical levels Monday, according to Austin-Travis County EMS, but police could not say whether any bad drugs made their way out of the city.
Austin Police and Austin-Travis County EMS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
