Police in D.C. said two people have been arrested in a string of deadly fentanyl overdoses, and one person is in custody in the killing of a Special Police officer.
On Wednesday, D.C. police Chief Robert Contee provided an update on a series of fentanyl-related drug overdoses in January involving 14 people, of which nine died, in Southwest.
D.C. police arrested Sheldon Marbley, 43, and Shameka Hayes, 23, both of Northwest D.C., on charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and para-fluorofentanyl, unlawful distribution of cocaine and para-fluorofentanyl resulting in substantial bodily injury, and aiding and abetting, with additional charges to be filed, said Ramey J. Kyle, with the police department’s Violent Crimes Suppression Division.
“The amount of fentanyl to take [a] person’s life, you can barely see with naked eye,” Contee said, holding a vial containing the substance.
Kyle said that a small amount of fentanyl can have an adverse impact on an individual. He said the investigation in part involved pulling video from nearby cameras; Contee credited community connection, outstanding police work and the use of technology in closing the case.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI joined D.C. police in the investigation.
Kyle said that he hopes the arrests will provide a sense of closure to the family and friends of those who have died.
1 arrested in officer’s shooting death
D.C. police also made an arrest in the shooting death of Special Police officer Angela Washington, 41, of Suitland, Maryland.
Washington was killed in September on 10th Place near Savannah Street SE while working security on behalf of a nearby complex.
22-year-old Jadohn Bracey was taken into custody Wednesday morning by members of the Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Police said they used surveillance video to identify Bracey.
Police told the Washington Post that Washington was responding to the sound of gunshots when she was hit by a bullet.
