Charges Filed Against 4 People In 3 Drug Overdose Deaths
DETROIT (AP/WWJ) - Federal prosecutors have filed charges against four men who are accused of supplying drugs that led to three fatal overdoses in Southeast Michigan.
The overdoses involved heroin, fentanyl and Vicodin, another powerful painkiller.
The victims, ranging in age from 18 to 35, died in March, April and in 2011.
Charged are Zachary Burdette of Ypsilanti, Roy "Junior" Brownlee of Ypsilanti, Charlie Stevens of Beverly Hills, and Kenyatta "Big" McConico of Detroit, according to a report by the Detroit News.
U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said investigations of deaths linked to heroin are a priority in her office. She said heroin is "poison," and the people who sell it are aware of the risk.
The government says more than 60 people have died of overdoses of heroin and fentanyl in Wayne and Washtenaw counties this year. Nationwide, heroin overdoses have tripled since 2010, according to the DEA.
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