HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Police and federal agents allege an Ohio man is responsible for the rash of heroin overdoses in Huntington on Aug. 15.
Bruce Lamar Griggs, 22, of Akron, was arrested in Ohio Thursday and will be transferred to the Southern District of West Virginia to face the charges, U.S. Attorney Carol Casto and Huntington Police Joe Ciccarelli announced Friday.
MORE read redacted affidavit here
The criminal complaint alleges that one of the heroin victims told police he purchased the heroin from Griggs and “numerous others provided corroborating information linking the heroin to Griggs.” A person meeting the description of Griggs was spotted on surveillance video dealing drugs in the Marcum Terrace area shortly before the overdoses began.
There were 26 overdoses in Huntington in less than six hours. There were initially no deaths reported in connection with the overdoses but a few days later police said two people had died. Most but not all of the overdoses were in Huntington.
There was speculation the heroin may have been laced with the powerful drug Carfentanil.
Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said at the time that all heroin is bad.
“Anybody that sticks a needle in their arm they are on the verge of killing themselves,” Williams told MetroNews affiliate 580-WCHS in Charleston. “There’s no such thing as a bad batch. It’s all bad.”
Griggs had an initial court appearance before a federal magistrate in Ohio Thursday. He’s expected to be brought back to West Virginia soon.