Police save burglary suspect from overdose

A man wanted for allegedly breaking into a bakery in downtown Cornelia is behind bars and is lucky to be alive, according to police.

Cornelia Police had been searching for Chance Hess for several days when they were called to a residence where the man had overdosed on June 28. Officers administered Narcan to the man in an attempt to revive him, Police Chief Jonathan Roberts said.

“While officers were rendering aid, they recognized the patient as Hess,” Roberts says.

Habersham County EMS took Hess to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Demorest. After he was released from the hospital, police took him to the Habersham County Jail, where he was arrested for burglary.

According to Roberts, officers identified Hess as a burglary suspect based on surveillance footage from the bakery’s security camera. After obtaining warrants for his arrest, it took a week to find him.

“We received many tips from citizens about Mr. Hess’s possible whereabouts, but apparently we were two seconds too late,” says Roberts. At least until the call came in about the overdose.

“Mr. Hess chose to use fentanyl in an unintended way and it nearly cost him his life,” said Chief Roberts. “He was lucky someone called 911.”

As of June 30, Hess was being held at the Habersham County Detention Center on $3,400 bail.