Ohio Man Arrested in Connection with Huntington Overdoses

An Akron, Ohio man is in Federal Custody in connection with a rash of overdoses in Huntington earlier this month.

Twenty-two-year-old Bruce Lamar Griggs was arrested in Ohio and is being held on a federal criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of West Virginia. According to United States Attorney Carol Casto and Huntington Police Chief Joe Ciccarelli, Griggs is charged with distribution of heroin.

According to the affidavit filed by the Huntington Police Department, the investigation of Griggs began on August 15 when a rash of heroin overdoses took place around the Marcum Terrace housing projects in Huntington. That evening, emergency crews responded to 26 overdoses in a four-hour span. Two people reportedly died in connection with the same batch of heroin distributed in the city.

The affidavit filed by the police said one of the overdose victims identified the seller of the heroin as Griggs and others provided corroborating information linking the heroin to Griggs.

Surveillance video also shows a man matching Griggs’ description engaging in activity that looks like hand-to-hand drug distribution in the Marcum Terrace area before the overdoses. Griggs appeared before a judge in Ohio yesterday and will now be transported to West Virginia to face charges.