Heroin taking its toll on communities

By Nathan Mayberg
On April 12, Pine Island's 21-year-old Hayley Brown, died from a heroin overdose in the town of Warwick, N.Y., near the border with Vernon.

Her father, Patrick Brown, wanted the community to know.

"Her death was brought on by a terrible addiction to narcotics. This seems to be an epidemic here in Orange County that she got into," he wrote in a letter.

Warwick police responded to 26 drug overdoses last year.

"It's here. There is no question about it," McGovern said.

Police departments in Orange County and nearby Sussex County see prevalent use of heroin and prescription drugs.

"We're definitely seeing more of that type of activity," Warwick Police Department Chief Thomas McGovern said.

On April 30, a Warwick resident, Dennis Gillespie, 43, was shot to death in his car with a 30-year-old Goshen, N.Y., woman in an area in Paterson, New Jersey known for heroin distribution.

Sussex County Prosecutor's Office

Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Mueller said the county's Gang, Guns & Narcotics Task Force makes one to two narcotics arrests per week. The majority of those are for heroin.

Mueller said the office won't release specific statistics regarding its arrests for heroin possession "out of a concern for protecting our investigations."

Assistant Prosecutor Jerome Neidhardt, who heads the task force, said heroin is one of the major causes of burglaries and thefts in the county.

While data was not available on the direction of burglaries and thefts in the region, Neidhardt said "ballpark figures" regarding heroin arrests show them on pace to be less than last year.

Many of the heroin buys are made in Paterson, Neidhardt said.

"In terms of heavy duty professional dealers," Neidhardt said, "it's the same people all over again."

He also said the heroin issue has gotten worse over the last decade as it is sometimes cheaper to buy than marijuana.

NewtonFor Newton Police Department Chief Michael Richards, heroin has been a problem since he joined the force in 1989.

"There's been a raised awareness of heroin among our citizens," Richards said. "As a police officer, I've been seeing it for a long time. It's possible that more and more people are becoming addicted to it and are using it that weren't involved in criminal activity."

Richards said he has seen a lot of people die from it.

Last year, his department began administering Narcan to revive victims of heroin overdoses.

Newton police have used Narcan five times since October 2014.

He has noticed an increase in the use of pills over the past five years.

Between his department's officers and the county's drug task force, 26 heroin-related arrests were made last year.

As of May, Newton police made two heroin arrests independent of the task force.

Sparta"Heroin is probably the single most biggest threat to public safety," Sparta Lt. John Beebe said. "The majority of our crime is a result of people who have addictions to heroin."

This year, there have been two fatalities out of eight reported drug overdoses as of June 12.

In 2013, there were seven fatalities from 29 overdoses the department responded to.

Since police started using Narcan in October, they have revived five overdose victims.

"Our jobs as police officers is to protect life and protect property," he said. "When you are given tools to save somebody's life, you don't question how they got to that situation."

Saving a person's life "should be absolutely instinctive," Beebe said.

As of June 12, police have made nine heroin-related arrests this year, which is on pace to be down from the 26 arrests made for heroin last year though on pace for the 16 heroin-related arrests made in 2013.

"With this drug, it overcomes every social and ethnic background," Beebe said.

Beebe, a 26-year veteran with the department, thinks prescription drug use might be contributing to the increase in heroin use.

"We have a serious, serious issue with prescription medication," he said.

Beebe believes some people are over-prescribed drugs that are akin to "synthetic heroin."

"Sparta is not unique here. This is a nationwide problem."

The first indicator of a heroin problem was a "dramatic increase in burglaries" about 15 years ago, he said.

Burglaries have since dropped.
This year, there have been 10 burglaries as of June. Two of those cases remain open.

Vernon "Has it (heroin) appeared to increase? Absolutely," Vernon Police Officer Stephen Gentle said.

Gentle has been on the force for almost five years.

He believes the "majority of our burglaries" are directly related to heroin users.

People aren't breaking into cars to buy marijuana, he said.

Gentle couldn't say whether the amount of burglaries has changed in recent years.

Asked whether rehab programs were helping local addicts, Gentle said some programs have a "downside" by allowing users to network.

Vernon police did not provide figures on the number of heroin arrests or overdoses they respond to.

Messages left with Chief Randy Mills, were not returned.

Franklin"We've seen an increase in and around Franklin Borough as everybody else has," Franklin Police Dept. Det. Nevin Mattesich said.

While statistics on arrests and overdoses were not immediately available from the department, Franklin police recently announced that it arrested five people on heroin charges as part of a three-month investigation into heroin dealing in the borough.

"Our officers are out there doing whatever they can to prevent narcotics use and sale," Mattesich said.

Asked whether the apparent increase in heroin is contributing to other crimes, Mattesich said "narcotics permeate most aspects of crime."

Mattesich couldn't say whether other crimes such as burglaries or thefts had gone up in the borough.

HamburgIn Hamburg, Police Director Wayne Yahm said the borough is "just like every community. We've seen an uptick in the heroin issue."

From October to June, the department used Narcan to revive two heroin users from overdoses.

His department has been approached by families who want help for a relative using heroin, or want them out of the house.

Sometimes family members ask them to arrest the family member as a form of "tough love."

"Help only works if the person is ready for help," he said.

Heroin has no racial or class barrier, Yahm said.

"It doesn't matter if you are white, black, rich or poor,"

Yahm has been the police director in Hamburg for the past four years and a law enforcement officer for 31 years.

In the 1980s, heroin wasn't as accepted, Yahm said.

"It was more taboo."
Hardyston

Hardyston Police Lt. Rob Zicarelli said his town has dealt with an increase in heroin use.

"It is definitely a problem," he said. "This was a pretty busy year."

Zicarelli sees a link between those who start using prescription pills and move onto heroin.

He doesn't believe that users police come across in Hardyston are starting at a younger age.

Sussex County Sheriff's OfficeSussex County Sheriff Michael Strada said more than 80 percent of inmates at the county jail have some type of drug problem.

Increasingly, that is related to prescription abuse, he said.

"I don't think heroin's getting any worse," Strada said.

That's "not to say that heroin isn't an issue," only that increasingly more inmates are hooked on prescription medications, he said.

While not everyone is in jail for drugs, a number of them are accused of crimes Strada thinks were fueled to support their drug habit.

Strada said his department isn't involved largely in the drug crackdown in the county so his officers don't make a lot of arrests for it nor do they typically responded to heroin overdoses, he said.

Most of that is left to the county's drug task force.

He had no figures on the number of arrests or overdoses his officers respond to.

Center for Prevention and Counseling

Becky Carlson, executive director at the Center for Prevention and Counseling in Newton said "heroin is still a huge issue."

Over the last five years, there has been an increase in use, she said.

"We're losing people."
Heroin addiction affects not only the user but the family, Carlson said.

"It's heartbreaking," she said.

Rachel Wallace, director of clinical services, said that the county's Drug Court has helped get users treatment.

Some users have trouble getting jobs due to their criminal record.

When they get out, clients may struggle finding a recovery network so they don't relapse.

While much of the center's population is in the 24-29 age range, they have also treated adolescents for addiction.

"There has definitely been an increase" in heroin users, she said.

According to state statistics, 433 Sussex County residents have been admitted to a substance abuse facility since Jan. 1, Wallace said. Of those 433, 56 percent have identified themselves as heroin or opiate users.

Heroin "is a treatable illness," Wallace said. "It's a brain disease."

The center tries to help addicts by redirecting their energy and passions into other activities.

Wallace said Narcan has been used more than 20 times to save lives in Sussex County since it was introduced last year.

"Every life is worth saving," she said. "Every person who walks through our door, we believe there is hope."