VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Throughout the month of August, the Virginia Beach Police Department determined that there were 33 overdoses in the city. Eight of those overdoses resulted in death.
Police said 24 of the 33 reported overdoses have come to light over the past two weeks, however officers said these cases are not related to just a single drug.
Chief Paul Neudigate said he suspects another drug may have contributed to the three most recent cases involving crack/cocaine.
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"We usually do not see crack cocaine usage leading into overdose deaths, so it led us to suspect that possibly that crack cocaine is probably laced with fentanyl," said Chief Neudigate. "We can't prove it at the moment, but we sent it to the lab which takes a long time for results to come back."
If the drugs were laced with fentanyl, this would not be the first time it was involved in an overdose death. Sharon Adams of Chesapeake said heroin and fentanyl recently killed her 43-year-old daughter.
Adams said her daughter Debra, who was a Virginia Beach resident and a mother of three, became addicted to heroin after being around the wrong crowd.
After a few years, Adams said it was hard to recognize her own daughter.
"Looking back, I truly feel as though I watched a five-year suicide," said Adams.
Sharon said her daughter was often in and out of court and became so sick she was in the hospital. Deborah's addiction eventually claimed her on June 11. Sharon said seeing recent statistics of drug related deaths has made her feel angry. Especially reading how the police believe another drug may have laced the recent cases. She said what upsets her more is how people on social media have reacted the news.
"After Virginia Beach Police had posted the stats on Facebook, there were these people who replied on that same post," Adams said. "They wrote...'Let them die' and 'They'll overdose once they'll overdose again.' I replied, 'Well, you haven't been called to the scene to claim your overdosed dead daughter, have you?'"
Currently The Virginia Beach Police are waiting on a toxicology report from the most recent cases. Sharon said she's waiting as well for investigators to potentially prosecute the people who may have had a hand in Debra's death
"She [Deborah] couldn't walk ten feet," explained Sharon. "She didn't have any transportation, there is no way she huffed it out of the neighborhood to get drugs. Somebody brought it to her."
Sharon said police told her it is very rare for there to be an official distribution resulting in a death charge, though she said she's hopeful. For the time being, she said she wants to do anything she can to help other family members who have also lost loved ones over the past few months.
Sharon said, "I want to help those who are actively going through this god-awful nightmare that I still pray every night that I wake up from in the morning."
