A man distributed deadly narcotics to veterans and employees at the Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Medical Center in Chicago, according to a federal complaint filed Friday.
Richard Husband was accused of distributing a fentanyl and heroin combination nicknamed “gray death” due to the drugs’ strength and the number of overdoses that have occurred, according to the complaint.
Advertisement
On July 22, security cameras recorded Husband allegedly distributing fentanyl-laced heroin to several individuals, including a man in a wheelchair who later overdosed in his home and died, authorities said.
That same day, a law enforcement official on patrol in the area of the VA Medical Center saw another man — who was not recorded in the security footage — in medical distress near the bus stop. An officer with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs also responded and administered three doses of the overdose-reversing agent Narcan before paramedics arrived and took the man to the hospital for treatment. The man later told law enforcement officers that he bought two dime bags of heroin for $20 from Husband, the complaint said.
Advertisement
A woman who identified herself as the daughter of the man who died met with law enforcement officers and said she and another family member found her father dead in his home, the complaint said. The family members also found approximately five clear baggies and one pink-colored baggie, each containing a white powdery substance, that lab results later showed contained fentanyl, heroin and diphenhydramine, according to the complaint.
A toxicology report showed the man had both fentanyl and heroin in his system when he died and the coroner’s opinion was that he died of a fentanyl, heroin, and diphenhydramine overdose, authorities said.
During a later interview with law enforcement, Husband confirmed that he distributed the heroin, the complaint states.
Husband, according to the complaint, also allegedly told police that he gave the heroin to the man who died because he was an addict and was trying to help him.
The complaint, filed by a Department of Veterans Affairs officer, accuses Husband of knowingly distributing controlled substances. A lawyer for Husband could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
