Nassau police issue warning after increase in heroin overdoses

<p>Police have issued a warning after an increase in drug overdoses in the Massapequa area.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jul 4, 2018, 3:22 PM

Updated 2,129 days ago

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Police have issued a warning after an increase in drug overdoses in the Massapequa area.
There have been six overdoses over the last 13 days. One of them was fatal.
Chief of Detectives Neil Delargy says some of the six overdoses involved users who overdosed multiple times.
Within hours of the deadly overdose, police arrested Edward Gillespie on Sunday for allegedly selling the batch of heroin that caused it.
Gillespie, 21, of Queens, was arrested on Atlantic Avenue in Massapequa Park and charged with criminal possession and sale of a controlled substance.
Police say Gillespie had multiple wax paper envelopes containing a powdery substance believed to be heroin at the time of his arrest.
The latest overdose spike comes in a community that Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder has repeatedly referred to as a "hot spot" for drug-related crimes in the county.
Janice Talento, of the Massapequa-based Drug Free Long Island awareness group, and a host of community leaders are calling on neighbors to help the police, look out for each other and educate children.
“Come to the meetings, learn what's going on, see something - say something, get involved,” she says.


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