Latest news with #HALTFentanylAct
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
Searcy bowling alley manager arrested with no bond after fentanyl overdose
SEARCY, Ark. – Authorities said two men have been arrested after one overdosed in a Searcy bowling alley earlier in the month. After an investigation, Searcy police arrested Super Bowl manager James Preston Tarkington, who survived the overdose. He is now in jail with no bond. His charges include fentanyl possession and drug paraphernalia possession. Fentanyl overdose in Searcy bowling alley leads to two arrests Authorities also charged John Sterling Holmes with trafficking a controlled substance after finding fentanyl and other drug paraphernalia inside the bowling alley and Holmes's car. He has a $150,000 bond. The bowling alley on Main Street is popular for birthdays and league play. It was a frequent spot for Charity Boyd, who played on the Searcy High School bowling team and later worked for Tarkington. 'He would come over. He would show us how to do certain things alongside Coach Leonard,' Boyd remembered. Lonoke County pursuit leaves deputy, K9 and others injured Barbie Whitlow used to bowl there and stated the families are lucky the two were caught because she knows fentanyl can destroy far more than reputations. Her daughter, Amanda Destiny, died from a fentanyl overdose in September 2024. 'Those guys were 32 years old. Both of them were, and Amanda would be 32 today,' Whitlow said. Jessica Brawley also lives in White County. She hopes there is a future for both men and the place where generations of families have gone for entertainment. 'It is shocking. I mean, you're in a family place and you're doing fentanyl,' Brawley said. 'I'll make the drive for my kids to have a good time and be safe.' AG Tim Griffin among 25 attorney generals urging US Senate to pass 'HALT Fentanyl Act' Holmes' first court date is June 3. Tarkington's is on July 8. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Fentanyl overdose in Searcy bowling alley leads to two arrests
SEARCY, Ark. – Officials with the Searcy Police Department said an overdose at a Searcy bowling alley led to the arrest of two men on drug charges. Officials said police and the Central Arkansas Drug Task Force responded to a call at a bowling alley on Main Street in the city about a drug overdose on April 17. Arriving officials found a 32-year-old man had overdosed on fentanyl while at the bowling alley. Little Rock man sentenced to 30 years for fentanyl, meth charges Officials said police called an ambulance and the man was taken to the hospital, where he was treated and survived the overdose. Officers at the scene found a powdery substance that they determined was fentanyl. The subsequent investigation led to the April 25 arrest of James Preston Tarkington and John Sterling Holmes, both 32 years old and both from Searcy. AG Tim Griffin among 25 attorney generals urging US Senate to pass 'HALT Fentanyl Act' Police also executed a search warrant on Holmes' vehicle and the bowling alley. Investigators said they found fentanyl in Holmes' vehicle and fentanyl paraphernalia in the bowling alley. Tarkington is facing charges of felony fentanyl possession and misdemeanor drug paraphernalia possession. He is being held in the White County Detention Center with no bond listed and a July 8 court date. Sentinel Project to help detect dangerous drugs in Arkansas Sterling is facing charges of felony fentanyl delivery and felony fentanyl trafficking. He is being held in the White County Detention Center with a $150,000 bond listed and a June 3 court date. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senator tours local sheriff's office
WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) — Senator Jon Husted was in Trumbull County Wednesday, taking a tour of the Sheriff's Office and speaking with its newly elected leadership. Senator Husted also went on a ride-along with a sheriff's deputy, after talking with Sheriff Mike Wilson to learn about the issues law enforcement face. 'We also talked about the challenges in the community, the challenges with addiction and mental health issues and how we can all work together on those things,' Husted said. 'We want to be able to provide addiction treatment. We want to be able to provide treatment for detoxing and we also want to be able to provide counseling and clergy, which we are all bringing back to our jail,' Sheriff Wilson said. Husted is a proponent of the HALT Fentanyl Act, which gives Customs and Border Control the authority to seize illegal drugs crossing the border and gives longer sentences for those caught with fentanyl-related substances. 'There are a lot of drugs that come across borders. There are a lot of drugs that are manufactured in local communities but law enforcement needs the tools to be able to crack down on it, to hold people in jails,' Husted said. Wilson says he hopes a visit showed the senator the need for more funding for the Trumbull County Sheriff's Department. 'We need funding, you know. Funding makes a big difference. If we had more officers on the street, more officers in our jail, we'd be able to do a lot more in fighting crime, especially the fentanyl epidemic that we experience,' Wilson said. Currently, the Sheriff's Office has 140 deputies and corrections officers on staff. Wilson would like to see more funding to hire more deputies. 'Once we get the funding back and we're ready to go, we're ready to hire and get people trained so they can go out and fight the war on crime that we have here in Trumbull County,' said 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
Sentencing delayed for man who smuggled 720,000 fentanyl pills
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The sentencing of a man who pleaded guilty to smuggling more than 700,000 fentanyl pills into San Diego County was delayed Tuesday due to an unresolved issue involving firearms registered in his name. Jose Hector Ruiz was arrested in February 2024 in Alpine after authorities found 720,000 fentanyl pills inside his vehicle. He later pleaded guilty and was scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday afternoon. However, the hearing was postponed after his defense attorney requested a continuance, citing that two firearms registered to Ruiz had not yet been turned over to law enforcement. Ruiz is now scheduled to appear in court again on June 2. He faces more than 20 years in prison. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement that the arrest of Ruiz 'saved countless lives.' The arrest was part of the state's ongoing fentanyl enforcement program, which coordinates efforts between local, state and federal authorities. Among those closely watching the case is Jaime Puerta, a father who lost his 16-year-old son, Daniel, to fentanyl poisoning in April 2020. Daniel died after ingesting a counterfeit oxycodone pill he purchased through Snapchat, which was later found to contain fentanyl. 'What it turned out to be, I later learned, was a fake pill — a counterfeit pill made of filler, binder and illicit fentanyl, and it took his life,' Puerta said. Puerta is the co-founder and president of an advocacy group that raises awareness about fentanyl and its dangers. The synthetic opioid is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and is often used in counterfeit pills sold by drug dealers. In pushing for tougher sentencing for fentanyl-related crimes, Puerta is advocating for the passage of the bipartisan 'HALT Fentanyl Act,' which would mandate a minimum 10-year prison sentence for certain fentanyl offenses. 'We really need our Congress to step up to the plate,' he said. 'That way, all these drug dealers who are trying to find ways around our judicial system have no way of escaping it.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Yahoo
Little Rock man sentenced to 30 years for fentanyl, meth charges
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A Little Rock man is set to serve three decades in prison for drug charges. Federal prosecutors said 42-year-old Marquis Hunt was sentenced to 30 years of federal prison time for possessing multiple drugs with intent to distribute. AG Tim Griffin among 25 attorney generals urging US Senate to pass 'HALT Fentanyl Act' Prosecutors said FBI agents made contact with Hunt at a home in Little Rock on July 8, 2022, before he was detained. While executing a search warrant, investigators said they found more than a pound and a half of methamphetamine and more than 16 pounds of fentanyl throughout the home. Authorities said they also found distributable amounts of cocaine and marijuana. Upon further investigation, authorities found that fentanyl was sprayed on shredded vegetable material with a mixture of the prescription painkiller tramadol, making it appear to be a kind of synthetic marijuana or K2. Prosecutors said Hunt acknowledged selling drugs during the trial but then denied selling the drugs found at the home. US Marshals searching for missing Jonesboro felon Hunt was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. In addition to the prison sentence, Hunt was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and $400 in special assessments. There is no parole in the federal system. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
