The indictments of Allyson Dawn Bennett, 39, and Javian Neesmith, 21, are Flagler County’s second and third for murder stemming from the death of individuals from drug overdoses–a relatively new, rapidly expanding but also increasingly controversial trend in criminal prosecutions that began with the emergence of the fentanyl epidemic.
opioids
Calling Himself a ‘Scapegoat,’ Colon Pleads to 30 Years in Prison in Murder by Heroin of Savannah Deangelis
Joseph Colon, 37, pleaded to 30 years in prison in the death of Savannah Deangelis, 23, in 2017, after she took delivery of two $40 bags of heroin from him.
Joseph Colon, Heroin Dealer Accused of Murdering Savannah Deangelis, Will Plead to 30 Years in Prison
Savannah Deangelis was 23 and had been clean and in rehab for months when she took delivery of a $40 dose of heroin from Joseph Colon, and overdosed at her parents’ home in Grand Haven. Colon was indicted on capital felony murder.
Opioid-Related Deaths Decline By 34% in Flagler’s 3-County District in 1st Part of 2018
The decline is far more pronounced in the Flagler region than in the state, strongly suggesting that the introduction of front-line life-saving measures, combined with stricter state rules on prescription drugs, is having an effect.
40 Warrants, 23 Arrests in Latest Drug Sweep Across Flagler, This Time With Pleas For Treatment
The warrants target almost exclusively Flagler and Palm Coast residents, one of them a Waste Pro employee alleged to have been selling heroin while on the job on his route.
Where Doctors Can Recommend Marijuana to Replace Opioids
Four states, not including Florida, allow people with an opioid addiction to qualify for a medical marijuana card. Many physicians say it’s a bad idea, with marijuana unproven either to manage pain or kick an opioid addiction.
Candlelight Vigil at Flagler Beach’s Veterans Park on Aug. 31 to Mark Overdose Awareness Day
Open Door Recovery and Re-entry Ministries hosts a candlelight vigil in memory of victims of the opioid crisis on August 31 at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Flagler Beach, starting at 7 p.m.
Meth In The Morning, Heroin At Night: Inside The Seesaw Struggle of Dual Addiction
Researchers who have tracked drug use for decades believe the new meth crisis got a kick-start from the opioid epidemic: Across the country, more and more opioid users say they now use meth as well, up from 19% in 2011 to 34% in 2017.
State By State, the War on Pot Is Ending
Dozens of new state laws are expanding legal cannabis use — and expunging the records of users caught up in the system. This unprecedented wave of legislative activity at the state level is yet further evidence that public consensus on cannabis legalization has undergone a seismic shift.
Judge Perkins on Flagler County’s Drug Court: Celebrating Lives Reclaimed and Empowered
More than 88 percent of Flagler County Drug Court graduates do not reoffend. Since drug court began locally, 175 participants have made it through its rigorous demands, writes Judge Perkins.
A ‘Precedent-Setting’ Suit Puts Opioid Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson On Trial, Starting Today
Johnson & Johnson is accused of overstating the benefits of opioids and understating their risks in marketing campaigns that duped doctors into prescribing the drugs for ailments not approved by regulators.
Suicide Prevention Set To Become Part of Minimum Standard of Care At Addiction Centers
Rising opioids use and rising suicide rates: Suicide prevention advocates have been pushing the addiction treatment community to address the substantial overlap by adopting new standards of care. That starts in June.
A Palm Coast Man’s 5-Year Prison Sentence for Armed Robbery Exposes Intersection of Opioids, Suicide and Crime
Gary Wayne Hodges, 35, faced life in prison before his sentence for the armed robbery of a Dollar General in Bunnell last year. The judge was lenient, however, because of his history.
Let Marijuana Help Fight Opioid Abuse
It’s time for lawmakers and health officials to recognize the well-established power of medical marijuana to treat chronic pain — and to acknowledge its emerging role in combating the opioid abuse crisis.
Take It From Me: Addiction Doesn’t Start At the Border
As the sister of a brother lost to an opioid overdose, Trump’s claim that we need a border wall in order to keep drugs out is offensive to me on multiple levels. We should treat the root causes of addiction instead.
Discharged, Dismissed: ERs Often Miss Chance To Set Overdose Survivors On ‘Better Path’
It’s an opportunity that’s being missed in emergency rooms everywhere: the next step — a means to divert addicted patients into treatment — remains elusive once an addict is released from an emergency room.
A Quarter of Florida’s Physicians Skip Required Opioid-Prescription Training
The Florida Department of Health now is preparing to send non-compliance letters advising the providers that they have 15 days to take the mandated course or face disciplinary action.
Lawsuit Allegations Detail How The Sackler Family Built An OxyContin Fortune
This is the first lawsuit among hundreds of others that were previously filed across the country to charge the Sacklers with personally profiting from the harm and death of people taking the company’s opioids.
Travis Heidinger, 44, of Palm Coast, Dies of an Apparent Overdose
Early Monday morning, Travis C. Heidinger, a 44-year-old resident of Palm Coast, was found dead in a bathroom in his mother’s house on Llanes Place.
How Fentanyl, in 56% of Florida’s Overdose Deaths, Changes the Opioid Equation
With lethal amounts of fentanyl showing up in heroin and other drug supplies throughout the country, active drug users are at a greater risk of dying than ever before.
Two More Apparent Overdose Deaths in 8 Days, in Palm Coast and in Mondex
The Sheriff’s Office is investigating the deaths of 31-year-old William D. Scott of Palm Coast and 49-year-old Maxie Nieves of the Mondex.
An 18-Month-Old Is in ICU After Narcotic Overdose as Family Makes Up Stories to Cops
The 18-month-old child’s mother reported he reached into her purse and took two Subutex pills, the powerful narcotic prescribed to people fighting addiction.
Memories of Heartbreak, Triumph and Farewells at Flagler’s 32nd Drug Court Graduation
Circuit Judge Dennis Craig returned to preside over Flagler’s drug court graduation for the last time and saw goodbye to 11-year coordinator and tough cop Mike Greenier.
Sheriff Investigating Death of Samantha Brewer, 30, in R-Section as Overdose Claims Another Life
Samantha Brewer had called a friend over from the C-Section. He was in the bathroom 4 minutes, when he returned, Brewer was unresponsive from an overdose.
Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin Sales Pitch Downplayed Risks Of Opioid Addiction
More than 1,500 pending civil lawsuits, filed mostly by state and local governments, allege that deceptive marketing claims helped fuel a national epidemic of opioid addiction and thousands of overdose deaths.
In Two Days in Flagler, Two Overdoses, Three Incidents With Opioids, One Involving a 1-Year-Old
A 48-hour period in Flagler and Palm Coast saw the varied aspects of opioids’ effects–in overdoses, in arrests, in court–pointing to signs of an epidemic’s spread.
Palm Coast’s Daryl Jowais, 49, Found Dead of Apparent Drug Overdose
Daryl Jowais, 49, of Zacharias Place in Palm Coast, was found dead after locking himself in his bathroom. His supplier is unknown. The case is under investigation.
With Pastor Silano In Charge, Opioid ‘Task Force’ Attempts to Take Shape Free Of Candidate’s Hazier Motives
An “opioid task force” created in the shadow of County Commission candidate Joe Mullins’s campaign held its first meeting, with glimmers of potential substance on its future agenda.
Couple On Way To Their Own Kids’ Birthday Party Stop To Shoot Up Heroin, Causing Overdose
A Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy administered Narcan to help revive the overdose victim in the W Section. The man’s girlfriend had passed out earlier and revived.
In Lawsuit, Pam Bondi Accuses Pill Manufacturers of Causing Opioid Crisis
Bondi filed a civil suit accusing five of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers and four distributors of causing the opioid crisis that is killing an average 15 Floridians daily.
No Move to Plug Budget Despite Warnings About Cuts to Prisons’ Substance-Abuse Programs
The Senate appropriations chairman said lawmakers aren’t planning to plug a $28 million budget gap at the Florida Department of Corrections until next year.
Sheriff Touts 45 Drug Arrests in Flagler in 7-Month Operation, Part of Broader But Cyclical Effort
Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly hosted a press conference with Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood and Putnam’s Gator DeLoach to highlight a 27-county, 7-month drug investigation they took part in.
Addiction Drug Vivitrol’s Side Effect: More Overdoses?
Researchers suggest people getting Vivitrol shots may be more susceptible to a fatal overdose if they halt the regimen early and resume using opiates.
Flagler Beach Drug House Busted, Filth Draws Code Enforcement, 5 Arrested, 3 Already Out
The Paytas family members and associates at the 135 Oak Lane house in Flagler Beach have been subjects of drug busts before, and some of them have served prison time.
Scott Signs Bill Targeting Opioid Addiction, Imposing Limits on Prescriptions
The bill is designed, at least in part, to prevent patients from getting addicted to prescription painkillers and then turning to street drugs such as heroin and fentanyl.
Are Drug Addicts Less Valuable Than Students? Florida Says Yes, Wrongly.
Politically there may be a big difference between students’ safety and drug addicts. Ethically, there is none, and financially, addicts are being lethally short-changed.
In a First, Palm Coast Drug Dealer Is Indicted on 1st Degree Murder in Overdose Death of Savannah Deangelis
Joseph Colon, 34, of Palm Coast, is accused of selling the heroin and fentanyl that killed Savannah Deangelis, 23, moments later at her Grand Haven home last October.
Doctors Join Chorus Against Limits on Painkiller Prescriptions, But Lawmakers Push On
The proposal to set legal limits on prescribing for pain medication continued moving forward when it was unanimously approved by the House Appropriations Committee.
Flagler’s Opioid Crisis Seen From Those Fighting It: A Severe Lack of Treatment Beds, Drug Court at Capacity, Jail as a Waiting Room
The most comprehensive picture of the opioid crisis in Flagler County came to light today in a gathering of Flagler County judges, top cops, medical, social and government services. Here are the details.
Collateral Damage of Florida’s Opioid Crisis: Children
Contending with tales of children discovered in the backseats of cars with their parents passed out from drug overdoses in the front, or toddlers left alone in fetid apartments for days while drug-addled mothers or fathers scour the streets for a fix.
Applicants Line Up Concert-Style For Florida’s Dozens of New Methadone-Treatment Licenses
Florida officials this summer decided to double the number of methadone clinics in the state as part of a $27 million federal grant aimed at curbing opioid addiction and overdoses.
Man at Wheel of Truck in Crash That Killed 10-Year-Old Arrested on Drug Charges; Cited 3 Times in Last 6 Months For No License
Thomas Rando, the Palm Coast man at the wheel of an SUV that crashed Friday, killing 10-year-old Hannah Beard, was arrested Sunday trying to leave a house allegedly with backpacks of drugs and has a long history of driving without license.
Flagler County on Periphery of Opioid Crisis, But Deaths Report Signals Lethal Spikes
Deaths related to heroin and fentanyl use are rising locally, and deaths related to prescription drugs spiked 22 percent as the region proves not immune to the opioid crisis.
The Last Weeks of Savannah Deangelis, 23, Who Died Monday From an Opioid Overdose
Savannah Deangelis of Palm Coast, a Matanzas High graduate, overdosed in late October after being expelled from a recovery program in dubious circumstances after the hurricane.
Florida’s Opioid Crisis: Thousands of Babies Born to Addicts or Removed From Users’ Homes
More than 4,000 babies were born addicted to opioids in Florida last year, with a 38 percent increase in the number of children under 5 removed from homes because of drugs.
Florida Lawmakers Looking To Add Treatment Programs To Fight Opioid Epidemic
A combination of short-term intensive treatment beds, long-term outpatient services and medically assisted treatment could be the blueprint for a solution, a powerful lawmaker says.
7-Day Limit On Pain-Killer Prescriptions Part of Sweeping Proposal To Crack Down on Opioids
Doctors would be limited to prescribing seven days’ worth of opioids for patients with acute pain and would have to check a statewide database before ordering most prescription pain medications.
Florida Lawmakers Hear Grim Picture of Worsening Opioid Crisis and Lack of Treatment
In the first six months of 2016, deaths caused by fentanyl increased by nearly 140 percent, deaths from heroin overdoses jumped by 25 percent, compared to the same period in 2015.
To Fight Opioids, Gov. Scott Will Include $50 Million In Next Year’s Budget For Drug Treatment
The proposal won;t be considered before January. The $50 million would include money for such programs as substance-abuse treatment, counseling and recovery services.
Prescription-Drug Overdoses Swamp Medical Examiners, Putting Accuracy In Question
The concern is that performing more than the recommended limit of 325 autopsies in a year, in addition to other duties such as testifying in court, could result in errors.