Jun 29, 2015 3 min read

Three heroin overdoses were reported in Washington since Thursday.

A 23-year-old man, slumped over and unconscious, was taken to a hospital Saturday after passersby spotted him in his vehicle near the Walgreens on West Chestnut Street. That same day, another man was taken to a hospital after police responded to a report of an attempted vehicle break-in on the 600 block of Jefferson Avenue.

A third man was revived Thursday after his 5-year-old son told 911 operators his dad wasn’t moving.

Counting these most recent cases, the city’s tally has been raised to eight overdoses in less than three weeks. But police said they aren’t aware of a link to any particular batch of heroin.

“We’re not linking it to one particular stamp,” said police Chief Chris Luppino. “It used to be, back in the day, that they kept a stamp around for a long time, and people would ask for a specific heroin.”

But now, the names of heroin change frequently to evade police investigations.

Two full stamp bags marked “Lion King” reportedly were discovered Thursday at 204 Wilson Ave. Police said David Reede Harden III, 32, will be charged with drug possession. He was revived by EMS after his young son called 911.

Police said Troy Ethridge, 58, of 154 North College St., also was taken for treatment Saturday after he exhibited symptoms of overdosing at Nick’s Tobacco Outlet on Jefferson Avenue. Police said they found a needle and empty stamp bags in his possession. He was charged with two counts of possession and public drunkenness, and he was arraigned by District Judge Jay Weller.

Police initially responded to a report of an attempted vehicle break-in in the 600 block of Jefferson Avenue, which led them to Ethridge. Police said Amanda McGary, 28, of 102 Hewitt Ave., who was with Ethridge, will be cited for public intoxication.

The 23-year-old man who was found in his car near Walgreens was revived by EMS and taken to Washington Hospital. Police said found a bag of needles in his pocket, but the police report did not indicate whether he would be charged.

Narcan, a heroin antidote nasal spray, has been credited with saving numerous lives. It was used last Wednesday when a WPXI cameraman called 911 to report that a man was unconscious in his vehicle in a parking lot near Shop ‘n Save off West Beau Street. The cameraman performed CPR until emergency responders arrived and revived the man with Narcan.

Luppino said city police are permitted to carry Narcan, but they choose not to because it already is carried by ambulance services.

“They have a short response time, too,” he said. “They are first responders, and they’re trained to better administer it than we are.”

There were at least 36 drug overdose deaths last year in Washington County. District Attorney Eugene Vittone said most of the heroin overdose deaths have been occurring in Washington, Charleroi and Canonsburg, and Pennsylvania continues to experience a drug overdose epidemic.

Staff writer Scott Beveridge contributed to this report.