Latest heroin arrest spurs police warning of overdose risks

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The Drug Task Force displayed heroin, money, and paraphernalia following the arrest of a suspected drug dealer. —Photo courtesy of Martha's Vineyard Drug Task Force

Members of the Martha’s Vineyard Drug Task Force arrested Justin Clark, 20, and Brandon Francis, 22, on drug charges Friday morning following a coordinated raid on a house located at 10 Chambers Way in Edgartown.

Police executed a search warrant at the Edgartown home shortly after 10 am and seized ten grams of heroin packaged for distribution, various distribution paraphernalia, and 2.5 ecstasy pills, according to a statement released by Oak Bluffs and Edgartown police.

Mr. Francis was also charged with possession of a small amount of psilocybin mushrooms, an illegal hallucinogenic drug.

The home is owned by Gretchen Wean of Edgartown, according to assessors records.

In a joint statement Edgartown and Oak Bluffs police said that heroin remains prevalent on Martha’s Vineyard, with tragic consequences. Police cited two recent heroin overdoses, one of them fatal, and asked for cooperation from Island residents.

“It’s the same thing we’ve been experiencing for the last couple of years,” Edgartown Det. Sgt. Chris Dolby told The Times. “It’s just to keep it in people’s minds that it’s going on. For heroin in particular, it’s life and death. It’s pretty prevalent.”
On October 1, Oak Bluffs EMTs used Narcan, a drug that counteracts the effects of heroin, to resuscitate an Eastville man who had overdosed. One police officer familiar with the incident said the man was completely unresponsive, in respiratory arrest and hypoxic, meaning he was literally blue. The Narcan saved the man’s life, according to the officer.