AUSTIN, Texas — None of the five people arrested amid the investigation into a deadly overdose outbreak in Austin last week are suspected of being directly linked to the overdoses, the Austin Police Department said on Tuesday.
APD said the five people were arrested for either possession or delivery of crack cocaine that tested positive for fentanyl. The arrests come as a result of an investigation into the source of the narcotics used in the recent overdoses. But APD Lt. Patrick Eastlick said in a news conference on Tuesday none of those arrested are suspected of being directly linked to the overdoses.
Starting on April 29, first responders saw a 1,000% increase in call volumes related to a "deadly batch" of narcotics believed to be laced with fentanyl. Officials said as many as nine opioid-related deaths were suspected. Austin-Travis County EMS reported the final number of suspected overdoses at 79, with 438 Narcan doses distributed.
By Monday, May 6, ATCEMS said opioid overdoses had returned to their usual level.
APD said the following people have been arrested:
- 50-year-old Gary Lewis, charged with possession of a controlled substance – fentanyl, a second-degree felony
- 47-year-old Denise Horton, charged with possession of a controlled substance – fentanyl, a second-degree felony
- 32-year-old Kanady Rimijo, charged with delivery of a controlled substance between 4 grams and 200 grams, a first-degree felony
- 30-year-old Marcellus Barron, charged with delivery of a controlled substance under 4 grams, a second-degree felony
- 45-year-old Ronnie Mims, charged with possession of a controlled substance under 4 grams, a third-degree felony
“It is an ongoing investigation,” Lt. Eastlick said. “The investigative steps needed to make a charge for either murder or delivery of a controlled substance causing serious bodily injury or death does take some time … We want to make sure that we provide, that we present, the strongest case to the district attorney’s office to be able to hold those responsible for these actions.”
Eastlick said detectives are hopeful more arrests can be made.
According to affidavits obtained by KVUE, Rimijo, Barron, Lewis and Horton were arrested on Thursday in possession of fentanyl-laced drugs during a police sting operation. APD launched an undercover narcotics operations after the surge of opioid-related overdoses in Austin.
The APD operation last week targeted the area around North Lamar Boulevard and Rutland Drive, which the affidavits called “an active open-air drug market.”
Just before 2 p.m., an undercover officer parked outside a pawn shop in the area, rolled down the window and made contact with a man who walked up to the driver side window. The undercover officer asked the man for “hard,” which is slang for crack cocaine, and said they had $40, according to the affidavit.
The suspect, identified as Rimijo, allegedly then placed two pieces of crack cocaine in the officer’s hand. Rimijo was arrested and searched. During the search, officers say they found eight individually packaged baggies containing marijuana in Rimijo’s left jacket pocket.
The crack cocaine later tested positive for 1.2 grams of fentanyl, while the marijuana tested positive for 11 grams of fentanyl.
Around 3:20 p.m., another undercover officer purchased $80 worth of crack cocaine from Barron outside the same pawn shop. That substance later tested positive for 1.4 grams of fentanyl.
Earlier in the day, during the same operation, police said they found fentanyl-laced marijuana in a car Lewis was driving with Horton in the passenger seat. The net weight of the fentanyl was 60 grams, police said. Police also found nearly $2,000 in Lewis' front pocket, according to an affidavit.
Meanwhile, in a separate investigation earlier in the week, police identified a dealer allegedly responsible for supplying narcotics used in overdoses in the Downtown Austin area.
On Tuesday, April 30, officers conducted surveillance on that dealer's house in the St. Johns area of northeast Austin. According to an affidavit, police witnessed Mims and another man pull up in a car and carry a third person out of the backseat who was unresponsive.
Officers then approached the residence and administered Narcan to the man, who regained consciousness.
A search was conducted on Mims and the car, and 3.3 grams of crack cocaine was discovered, police said. The substance tested positive for fentanyl.
Mims was charged with possession of a controlled substance. APD said no arrest has been made directly linking the alleged deal with the overdoses.
At least one other person has also been arrested during the course of the investigation. Johnny Lee Wright, 55, was arrested last Monday afternoon after police used surveillance cameras in the downtown entertainment district to track narcotics activity.
He was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and is currently being held in the Travis County Jail on a $10,000 bond. Wright is not charged in connection to the overdoses themselves.