A dangerous drug is making a resurgence in the area, as Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer said the county has seen its third death as a direct result of a heroin overdose. Gayer said the third death was less than a week ago; the man was found by a roommate with heroin and paraphernalia nearby.
Gayer explained it’s difficult to combat this new danger in the community, as thus far, it’s staying under the radar.
“I know it’s been coming. We knew it was in Starke County, LaPorte County, Jasper County – it’s been all around us. It’s not really popped up on any of our traffic arrests or criminal investigations that we’ve conducted, but now, within the last six months, we’ve had three confirmed overdose deaths as a direct result of heroin,” said Gayer.
While it’s difficult to trace exactly where the drug is coming from, Gayer said there are numerous locations where it is prominent, and now, it’s trickling into Pulaski County.
“We know there’s some hubs that they come out of, Valparaiso is one. Valparaiso gets theirs from Chicago, Chicago gets theirs from other places, so there’s different key cities around that it comes into and from there it trickles out to the smaller communities. Starke County’s had this issue for some time, as well as Jasper County, and now we’re seeing it here in Pulaski County,” Gayer said.
Gayer said they’re trying to combat it as best they can but it’s difficult and disappointing. He said law enforcement officials ultimately feel responsible because they can’t stop people from harming themselves through the use of drugs.
“It’s very discouraging in law enforcement that you put forth the effort to combat this addiction that these people have, and we come up short,” Gayer said.
