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Ocala
Friday, March 29, 2024

Two men released from jail found dead within week part of over two-dozen overdoses in Ocala this year

Two men whose deaths are being examined as possible overdoses will mark over two dozen deaths from overdose in Ocala this year.
The Ocala Police Department has made 140 overdose responses. Nearly two-dozen of those have resulted in deaths.
The Ocala Fire Rescue, which reported to a possible overdose earlier this month after a wife called in about her husband “turning blue and not breathing,” says that it has received 94 of those types of calls this year.
Four of those calls have resulted in deaths.

In a case earlier this month, a 33-year-old man whose wife of fifteen years says he had been released early from the Marion County Jail, was found with a small blue straw and a small amount of white powder at the scene of his death. The wife says she didn’t know if he had been using drugs since his release from jail, but confirmed he had used them in the past.

A medical examiner responded to that scene, as well as another with a similar situation this month.

In that case, a wife said the man was released from Marion County Jail the same day of the incident. She picked him up from the jailhouse and they arrived home. She found him halfway asleep on a bathroom toilet and after helping him into the bedroom, checked on him periodically. She called 911 once she noticed he was having trouble breathing, and administered a dose of Narcan. She tried giving him CPR until EMS arrived.

According to department records, the number of deaths represents an increase for both OPD and OFR compared to previous years.

The Ocala Police Department and Ocala Fire Rescue have collectively left behind or deployed over 70 doses of Narcan this year. Narcan is an agent designed to treat narcotic overdoses in emergency situations.

For more information on how to obtain Narcan for a friend or loved one, or on the amnesty and training programs offered, visit the Ocala Police Department or Ocala Fire Rescue websites.