Two men, including one from the Boston area, are facing drug-related charges as the result of separate arrests by Haverhill Police Wednesday.
Police report 22-year-old Charlie Adamez of Haverhill was taken into custody during a traffic stop at 7:20 p.m., at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Nichols Street. He is charged with possession of a class D drug with intent to distribute, drug violation within a school zone and a motor vehicle equipment violation, an altered exhaust.
Earlier, at 3:10 p.m. on Summer Street, Haverhill Police arrested 57-year-old Anastatse Barthemay of Bunker Hill on charges of Possession of a class D drug with intent to distribute, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Each is due to be arraigned in Haverhill District Court.
A scan of obituaries appearing on WHAV Web pages shows a number of young people who have died recently from drug overdoses.
The city of Haverhill is also stepping up its efforts to battle heroin addiction, according to Mayor James J. Fiorentini.
“The first thing we are going to do is to equip every police patrol officer with Narcan—a substance that can sometimes, not always, revive people who have overdosed, and save their lives.”
In a “Minute With The Mayor” address, Fiorentini said other local actions are also planned after he gathered with leaders from agencies dealing with heroin and substance abuse. Fiorentini said, young people abusing pain killers are getting hooked on heroin because it’s inexpensive and highly addictive, but can lead to jail for other crimes.
Police in other Merrimack Valley communities have also been battling against the spread of heroin and responding to overdose cases. Earlier this year, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patirck declared heroin and other opioid addiction “a health emergency” in the bay state.