Feb 5, 2016 2 min read

A Washington man was arrested Thursday by Chartiers Township police who said he provided heroin to a 26-year-old woman who overdosed on the drug.

David Gatling, 23, off 15 Linn Ave., is charged with possession of heroin, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence.

Police said they were called Monday afternoon to the home of Stephanie Marie Weber, 259 N. Cherry Ave., after she reportedly overdosed on heroin. Gatling called 911 for an ambulance and police. Gatling allegedly told police he flushed a stamp bag marked with a blue boot down the toilet, destroying the evidence.

Gatling allegedly provided Weber with the heroin, opened the bag for her and rolled up a dollar bill for her to use to inhale it, causing her to overdose.

Police Chief James Horvath said this is the first time the department has been able to charge someone in connection with an overdose.

“This is the first time that we had the evidence that we could tie to who provided the heroin,” Horvath said. “That doesn’t happen very often.

“Identifying the person who supplied the drug is always a priority in our investigation of every overdose we handle,” he said. “We now assign a detective to each overdose in an effort to identify and arrest that person.”

Weber reportedly told police it was only the second time she used heroin and that she was addicted to pain pills. Her 3-year-old daughter also was at the home, and Washington County Children and Youth Services was contacted.

“It is a shame, because the family is the victim in all of this,” Horvath said.

Gatling was arraigned before District Judge David Mark and placed in Washington County jail on $25,000 bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing before Mark on March 16.