Overdose

Police Identify Man Found Dead in Parking Lot Over the Weekend

EUSTIS, Florida—The man found dead of a suspected overdose in a car Sunday afternoon has been publicly identified.

William Woodruff, 32, was found around 2 p.m. Sunday in a car at Walgreens, 101 West Ardice Avenue, Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri told Inside Lake. EPD officers found drugs and drug paraphernalia with Williams and his death appeared to be an overdose.

There was no evidence of foul play, according to Capri.

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Body Found in Car at Eustis Business Sunday, No Foul Play, Police Say

EUSTIS, Florida—A man was found dead in a vehicle Sunday afternoon in the parking lot of a Eustis business, and it appears to be a drug overdose Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri told Inside Lake.

The white male in his 30s, was found around 2 p.m. in a car at Walgreens, 101 West Ardice Avenue, Capri said. A family member of the man asked for a well-being check earlier in the day and EPD officers spotted the vehicle but were unable to pull it over and the car was later found in the parking lot.

Drugs and drug paraphernalia were found with the man and there is no evidence of foul play, according to Capri. His identity has not been released.   

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Tavares Police Officer OK After Exposure to Fentanyl Causes Her to Overdose

TAVARES, Florida—A Tavares Police officer is OK after being exposed to fentanyl and overdosing around midnight Tuesday.

Officer Courtney Bannick was exposed to the lethal drug during a traffic stop where she found various narcotics on a passenger in the vehicle. She placed the suspect into custody and as she attempted to leave the scene, TPD Cpl. Cullen O’Shea heard Bannick breathless and choking on the radio and went to check on her, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan said.

Body cam video showing Tavares Police Officer Courtney Bannick overdosing after being exposed to fentanyl. (part 1)

When O’Shea approached Bannick’s vehicle, he found her drifting in and out of consciousness and she was removed from her vehicle. TPD Sgt. Jason Mahaney and Astatula Police Lt. Rodney Brown assisted with caring for Bannick while she continued to drift in and out of consciousness and she required three doses of Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, Sullivan said.

She (Bannick) is one of our most proactive officers,” Sullivan said. “She’s eager to get back to work.”

Bannick took precautions on the stop, including wearing gloves, and TPD is reminding its officers and the public to be careful, Sullivan said. “Tavares Police Department is thankful for the continuous training and quick response of the officers on scene that were able to assist Officer Bannick. Tavares Police Department recognizes that this day could have ended differently if our officers did not react the way they did.”

Tavares Police Officer Courtney Bannick

Bannick spoke exclusively with Inside Lake Tuesday afternoon.

“I remember starting to talk and inform dispatch I was leaving the scene with the female arrestee. As I put my car in drive and began to talk. I started to choke and feel lightheaded,” Bannick said. “I kept trying to talk on the radio and I wasn’t breathing and could tell I was fading. I kept telling myself to put the car in the park repeatedly. Then I saw O’Shea coming in the mirror.”

Bannick said she does not know how it happened.

“I don’t know how I was exposed, I did search the vehicle prior to searching her so I could’ve been exposed in there,” she told Inside Lake.

Bannick is feeling better, “I feel okay today, I have a headache which they said would be expected due to the Narcan.”

Officers perform traffic stops and find deadly drugs nearly every day; they use precautions, but can be exposed very easily.

“I’m thankful I had immediate help,” Bannick said. “I highly suggest never searching a vehicle or person alone. Always have that back up. If I didn’t have back up there last night, I wouldn’t be here today to talk about it. I hope people take this as a lesson. I’ve done this 100 times before. I search cars every night at work. You never know how strong the drugs really are.

The individuals involved in the traffic stop are facing felony charges, but have not been charged at this time, Sullivan said. The drugs that were found have been sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing.

Body cam video showing Tavares Police Officer Courtney Bannick overdosing after being exposed to fentanyl. (part 2)

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Leesburg Man Arrested in Summer Overdose Death

LADY LAKE, Florida—A Leesburg man has been arrested in the overdose death of a 38-year-old man in Lady Lake over the summer, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Albert Robert Springs, 33, was taken into custody Wednesday after an investigation revealed Springs dealt Harry Cooper the lethal fentanyl that killed him on June 25. Cooper was found dead in a bedroom at a home at 4100 Holly Hill and the medical examiner’s office ruled his death an accidental overdose of fentanyl, LCSO Lt. John Herrell said.

“Detectives worked diligently throughout the course of this investigation,” Herrell said. Phone records and surveillance video helped detectives determine Springs was responsible for dealing the fentanyl to Cooper.

Springs was arrested for death by unlawful distribution of fentanyl and is being held in the Lake County Jail on no bond.

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Apopka Man Arrested for Murder in Eustis Teen’s Overdose Death

EUSTIS, Florida—A 22-year-old Apopka man has been arrested in the death of a teenager who overdosed on fentanyl in her Eustis bedroom last month.

Zach Brandon Zorn, 22, was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Thursday on a charge of murder by distribution of a controlled substance, a Eustis Police detective working the case said when he spoke exclusively with Inside Lake Friday.  

On the afternoon of Aug. 13, EPD patrol officers responded to a home on Cherry Blossom Court in reference to a death. They spoke with the homeowners, who told officers they found their 19-year-old daughter unresponsive in her bedroom. They attempted CPR while waiting on officers, but she was cold to the touch. Lake County Fire Rescue responded and pronounced the teen dead shortly after she was found.

Her father told police the family watched a movie together the night before and he thought his daughter had stayed home throughout the night, but he did find her keys in her hand while he was attempting to resuscitate his daughter.

The detective working the case responded to the scene and the teenager’s parents and brother told him she had a history of drug use and usually snorted fentanyl and her father said he found a small baggie with a brown substance in her vehicle just a few days before. Police searched her room and bathroom and found marijuana and paraphernalia, in addition to a baggie with a tiny amount of a white substance in her wallet. Another baggie with white residue was found in her vehicle. The substance, believed to fentanyl, was submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing.

Last week, the medical examiner released its report to EPD; the teen’s death was found to be an accidental overdose of fentanyl.

The EPD detective began investigating the teenager’s known associates and secured a warrant for her phone, according to a report. The phone was a wealth of information, and showed the teen only communicated with Zorn the night before her death.  Their Snapchat messages are listed below.  

10:58 p.m.  (Zorn) Hay now I’m at mason street

                                       Hay

                                       Did u call

11:12 p.m.  (Teen) No

11:12 p.m. (Zorn) Are u heading this way

11:13 p.m. (Teen) Yes I will be there in 17 minutes

11:17 p.m. (Zorn) Heroine is boy and fetty is Fentanyl

                                    What u want

11:17 p.m. (Teen) Fetty ofc

11:32 p.m. (Zorn) “thumbs up emoji”

11:50 p.m. (Teen) I’m 5 minutes away

11:50 p.m. (Zorn) Oh ok

                                    Drive safely love

11:50 p.m. (Teen) I am

                                    I’m here

2:22 a.m. Aug. 13 (Teen) Is he almost done?

That was the only message sent on the day of the teen’s death, the detective noted in the report.

File photo

During his investigation, the EPD detective found that the teen met Zorn at Apopka High School and they began communicating in January 2018 and the teen discussed buying marijuana and THC from Zorn that year. They quit communicating for an extended amount of time and in March of this year, she messaged Zorn and said she was looking for a new “plug,” and asks if Zorn can get “some hydros or oxy?” The following day the teen messaged Zorn and states, “Loved the fent btw, thank you,” and the next day, March 26, she asks, “Is it possible to get more fent tonight?”  “Plug” is slang for a drug dealer.

Between April 4 and May 31, the teen discussed buying fentanyl from Zorn, and other drug-related transactions, a dozen times. Zorn gave the teen three different addresses in Apopka during this time to meet for drugs, including the home on Mason Street—the same home GPS data showed she met Zorn at the night before her death.

Zorn told a detective Thursday he would get drugs for the teen, and he would “tax” her for facilitating the transaction and keep a portion of the money she gave him. Zorn told the detective he facilitated the delivery of the lethal drugs to the teen the night before she died, but later changed his story when he found out the person he accused of giving her the drugs was incarcerated at the time of her death.

Zorn, who is on pre-trial intervention (PTI) for a different case, is being held in the Orange County Jail on $50,000 bond but will held on a no bond status after he is officially violated, for this new charge the detective said.

EPD Chief Craig Capri is proud of the work his detectives put in on this case and said they will continue to put dealers behind bars. “We will do everything in our power to stop the scourge of drug dealers in our city who prey on the victims who suffer from this illness.”

Just this week EPD worked three overdoses within 30 minutes of each other; the subjects were given Narcan and survived. 

PHOTO: Drug Policy Alliance

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