5 people arrested after spike in suspected drug overdoses in Austin: police

Five people have been arrested after dozens of people overdosed in Austin last week, resulting in nine suspected deaths.

Austin police said Marcellus Barron, 30; Denise Horton, 47; Gary Lewis, 50; Ronnie Mims, 45; and Kanady Rimjo, 32, were arrested and charged with possession or delivery of a controlled substance, according to local ABC News affiliate KVUE.

Police said they located the suspects by investigating the source of the narcotics used in the recent overdoses, KVUE reported. The drugs included marijuana and crack cocaine laced with fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most cases of fentanyl-related injuries, overdoses and deaths in the United States have been linked to illegally manufactured fentanyl, the CDC said. It is often sold in illegal drug markets and mixed with other drugs such as cocaine or heroin to increase its effects.

As of approximately 9 a.m. ET on Monday, April 29, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services (ATCEMS) said it had received a surge of calls focused on the downtown area.

ATCEMS said it typically receives two or three overdose calls per day, but the number of calls represented a 1,000% increase in call volume, Dr. Heidi Abraham, deputy medical director of ATCEMS, during a press conference last week.

On Monday, 79 overdoses were reported and ATCEMS distributed 438 Narcan rescue kits. Narcan is administered as a nasal spray, and the drug’s active ingredient – naloxone – can quickly restore breathing if someone suffers an opioid overdose.

According to police, a sixth person, 55-year-old Johnny Lee Wright, was arrested after surveillance video captured him distributing drugs to Austin residents, KVUE reported. According to the APD, Wright has multiple felony convictions, including some drug-related.

APD did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

A record number of Americans have died from drug overdoses. In 2022, there were nearly 108,000 drug overdose deaths, according to preliminary data from the CDC.

In Texas, the number of drug poisoning deaths in 2022 is 15.4 per 100,000 residents, the highest rate since at least 2011, according to preliminary data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.