Overdoses Continue In Bloomington

Last updated on Wednesday, June 28, 2017

(BLOOMINGTON) - Bloomington Police say overdoses continue in the city.

On Saturday, police and emergency crews responded to seven cases and two on Sunday.

Over a five hour period on Saturday, police and emergency crews responded to drug overdose calls seven times between the hours of 3:50 p.m. and 8:53 p.m.

Bloomington Capt. Steve Kellams says officers issued tickets instead of taking people to jail.

"That enforcement tactic was used on Saturday and Sunday when we started seeing the same victims getting sick again on Spice," Kellams wrote in an email.

On Saturday at 3:50 p.m. police and emergency crews were called to South Washington and East Fourth streets. They found a 23-year-old male lying down on the sidewalk with a smoking device and lighter in his hands. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital for treatment. He was cited for public intoxication and possession of drug paraphernalia.
On Saturday at 4:49 p.m. police and emergency crews were called to 213 East Kirkwood Ave. after a reported of a 27-year-old transient woman having a seizure. She was transported to the hospital and then cited for public intoxication, possession of a synthetic drug, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police say she had a bag containing Spice and a smoking pipe.
On Saturday at 5:09 p.m. police and emergency crews were called to 213 E. Kirkwood Ave. after a report of a 21-year-old male unresponsive on the ground. The male told police he had been smoking Spice. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital where he was treated and released. He was cited for public intoxication.
On Saturday at 5:56 p.m. police and emergency crews were called to 213 E. Kirkwood Ave, after a report that a 34-year-old transient woman was suffering a seizure. The woman had been smoking Spice. She was taken to the hospital for treatment and released. She was cited for public intoxication.
On Saturday at 6:47 p.m. police and emergency crews were called to the Monroe County Public Library after a report of an 37-year-old male suffering a seizure. The man had been smoking Spice. He was taken to the hospital and treated and released. He was cited for public intoxication.
On Saturday at 7:54 p.m. police and emergency crews were called to the 200 block of E. Kirkwood Ave. after a report of an unresponsive homeless woman. Police found the 31-year-old woman having a seizure and a baggie containing Spice and a smoking pipe. She was taken to the hospital and then released. She is facing charges of public intoxication, possession of a synthetic drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.
On Saturday at 8:53 p.m. police and emergency crews were called to the 400 block of E. Kirkwood Ave. after a 48-year-old homeless man was found passed out in a wheelchair near Nick's English Hut. He told police he had only been drinking and was taken to the hospital. He was cited for public intoxication.
On Sunday at 2:22 p.m. police and emergency crews were called to the 210 block of E. Kirkwood Ave. after a report that a 33-year-old homeless man had been sitting on a bench and fell to the ground foaming at the mouth. The man had been smoking Spice. The man was taken to the hospital for treatment and was released. He was cited for public intoxication
On Sunday at 4:31 p.m. police and emergency crews were called to the 110 block of South Grant St., after a report a 32-year-old man had passed out. He was cited for public intoxication.

Capt. Kellams says one man was arrested Sunday afternoon.

At 2:50 p.m. police received an anonymous tip that a man was selling drugs from a maroon van near Trinity Episcopal Church at the corner of Grant Street and Kirkwood Ave.

Police arrested 33-year-old Michael Bixler of Bloomington on charges of dealing meth, possession of meth, dealing a synthetic drug, possession of a synthetic drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Capt. Kellams says police found Bixler with a bag of Spice and smoking paraphernalia. Police found a tin of Spice next to him in the vehicle, a bag of Spice in the center console and three bags of crystal meth under a floor mat.

Bixler says the meth was not his and he had only sold Spice to one person in the past two months.

Bloomington police are still searching for the local supplier of Spice. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bloomington Police Department.

One 29-year-old mother of four died and 11 people were treated for overdoses last week in Bloomington.

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