By Shereen Siewert
Five people are facing an array of criminal charges in the wake of a near-fatal overdose of a Wausau woman who nearly died after being injected with drugs.
Police responded at about 9:30 a.m. Jan. 7 to the East High Apartments, 708 Fulton St. in Wausau, for a report of a drug overdose. A 23-year-old woman, who initially did not have a pulse and was not breathing, was transported to a Wausau hospital for treatment. She survived.
As a result of the investigation into the woman’s overdose, police arrested one man, Joseph Chittum, at the Fulton Street apartment.
Investigators then went on to search a Humboldt Street apartment where another suspect, Amanda L. Williams, was arrested. Police say Williams sold heroin to Chittum, who administered the shot that led to the overdose. Chittum allegedly told police the victim’s boyfriend, Alex Jacinto, tried to administer the shot but struggled, according to court documents.
But the investigation didn’t end there. Two additional people suspected in the heroin supply chain, Desco Hines and Heather Fletcher, are also being charged and were ordered held Monday on high cash bonds. Prosecutors say Fletcher had more than 100 doses of heroin in her possession when she was taken into custody.
Jacinto also faces drug-related charges.
Fletcher, 35, faces charges of possession of heroin with intent to deliver, on or near a jail, and possession of drug paraphernalia. She is being held on a $50,000 cash bond with a review hearing set for Friday.
Hines, 44, faces charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, manufacturing or delivering Schedule I or II narcotics, maintaining a drug trafficking place and three counts of bail jumping. He is jailed on a $50,000 cash bond, with a preliminary hearing set for Jan. 20.
Chittum, 33, faces charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, manufacturing or delivering Schedule I or II narcotics, maintaining a drug trafficking place, possession of drug paraphernalia and bail jumping. During an initial appearance Jan. 11, Chittum was ordered held on a $5,000 signature bond. A review hearing is set for Friday.
Williams, 38, faces charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, manufacturing or delivering Schedule I or II narcotics, maintaining a drug trafficking place, possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of bail jumping. She is being held on a $1,500 cash bond, with a preliminary hearing set for Jan. 20.
Jacinto, 29, faces charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, manufacturing or delivering Schedule I or II narcotics and two counts of bail jumping in a case filed Jan. 11.
A date for his initial appearance has not yet been set.
