By Shereen Siewert
Two people are facing felony charges after police connected them to near-fatal overdoses of two men over a 12-day span in Wausau.
Joshua D. Geoffrey, 30, of Wausau, and 44-year-old Michele A. Lopez, of Schofield were both charged Monday in Marathon County Circuit Court after investigators connected them to the drug trail in both overdose cases. The first of the two incidents happened Jan. 14 at a Wausau motel, while the second overdose was reported Jan. 26 at a residence on Marquardt Road.
Police and rescue crews were called Jan. 14 to the motel, on 17th Avenue, for a report of a man who had overdosed and was unresponsive. When police arrived, the man was purple from the neck down, lying on the bed next to a hypodermic syringe loaded with a brown colored liquid inside, according to the police report. Court documents suggest the syringe contained a combination of meth and heroin.
An officer at the scene performed lifesaving measures including rescue breaths until EMTs arrived on scene, the report states. The man was transported to a local hospital.
The second near-fatal overdose happened the morning of Jan. 26, when a 911 caller reported finding her 23-year-old grandson locked in the bedroom, not responding to her. Police used a screwdriver to get the door open and discovered the man lying next to a night stand and on the floor with a capped hypodermic needle in his hand, according to court documents.
Police and rescue workers revived the man, using two doses of Narcan, before transporting him to a local hospital by ambulance.
Through further investigation, police connected both Geoffrey and Lopez to the drugs used by both men.
Lopez faces charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and manufacturing or delivering narcotics. She is free on a $10,000 signature bond, with an indigency hearing set for Feb. 6.
Geoffrey faces more serious charges: two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and two counts of manufacturing or delivering heroin. Geoffrey, who is being held on a $5,000 cash bond, is due in court Feb. 12 for a preliminary hearing.
