A man was arrested by Boston police over the weekend for allegedly trafficking fentanyl, after multiple people in Hyde Park overdosed, according to the agency.
Gilbert Eatherton, 22, of Charlestown, is facing several drug-related charges, according to a news release from the Boston Police Department.
Police responded to the 1400 block of Hyde Park Avenue just after 5 a.m. Sunday for a report of an overdose, the release said. When officers showed up, they found fire and EMS crews helping multiple people who had overdosed, police said. Everyone became conscious again after first responders administered Narcan to them. Four adults ended up in the hospital.
Officers learned the people who overdosed "snorted a powdery substance," and found a fanny pack that had 11 small bags of a white powdery substance inside it. It belonged to another person on scene, identified as Eatherton, police said.
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In West Roxbury District Court Monday, at Eatherton's arraignment, the court psychologist said he also overdosed.
"He confirmed he did suffer an overdose. He was told by police and bystanders that his heart has stopped. They felt he was, he was sort of out or dead at the time," Courtney Ford told the court.
Prosecutors said in court that after police found about a dozen small baggies in the defendant’s fanny pack that were believed to be filled with fentanyl, the suspect claimed ownership of the fanny pack and its contents, at which point he was arrested.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, considerably stronger than heroin and morphine. The defendant’s sisters were in court when the judge agreed to have him committed to try and deal with his issues related to drugs and alcohol.
"My client is 22, never had formal treatment. He’s actually a prime candidate for some real serious substance-abuse treatment. And he is a person who is really going to benefit from it," Michael Thaler, Eatherton's defense attorney, said.
It’s unclear how long the defendant will be in treatment. His next court date is next month.
