On August 9, 2017, Greenwich Police responded to a private residence on Old Kings Highway on a report of a heroin overdose.
Police and Greenwich Emergency Medical Service personnel provided medical care and transported the patient to the hospital where the person eventually recovered.
Greenwich Police detectives were able to identify the source of the heroin and subsequently requested and received an arrest warrant to the Stamford Superior Court.
On August 21, 2017, Greenwich Police detectives arrested by warrant Kevon T. Williams, 24, of 30 Armstrong Court in Greenwich for the charges of Assault 2 and Illegal Manufacture, Distribution, and/or Sales of Narcotics.
Williams bond was set at $50,000, which he was unable to post. He was held until arraignment on August 23, 2017.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), between 2007 and 2013 alone, the population of heroin users has almost doubled, and the number of overdose deaths has more than tripled. This rise in heroin use is attributed to the increasing abuse of controlled prescription drugs (CPDs) over the last decade. Four out of five new heroin users abused prescription drugs in the past, and the heroin available today is of a higher purity, is less expensive, and is easier to obtain than CPDs. The rapidly rising addition of fentanyl to street narcotics has dramatically increased addictions and fatalities. This crisis has dramatically reached the Town of Greenwich with a significant increase in overdose incidents, including some resulting in death.
The Greenwich Police Department aggressively pursues dealers of narcotics within the community, but we also continue to seek collaborative solutions to the epidemic with a variety of health and service providers. Help is available for those suffering from addiction.
Information of the heroin problem is available from the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services at: http://www.ct.gov/dmhas
