Chicago police say two arrests linked to investigation into fatal fentanyl overdoses

Chicago police say two West Side men with criminal histories going back decades were arrested last week as part of an investigation into a batch of drugs laced with the potent painkiller fentanyl that caused a rash of overdoses, four of them fatal.

But so far, the charges against the men, 47-year-old Douglas Tate and 49-year-old Anthony Robinson, do not connect them to the 17 total drug overdoses as authorities continue to look into whether the two played a role in the distribution of the tainted drugs.

Tate was arrested Friday morning outside his home in the 700 block of North Trumbull Avenue in the East Garfield Park neighborhood, the area where police have said most of last week’s overdoses occurred.

Tate was charged with a simple assault after he allegedly threatened a man in the neighborhood by telling him, “we’re going to deal with you,” after the man spoke to a news reporter about the area’s drug problem.

According to a source, police pushed a felony charge against Tate for intimidation but could only secure the misdemeanor assault charge. Spokespeople for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, which decides whether someone should be charged with a felony, could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday.

Tate, who has a criminal history going back to at least 1988 that includes felony drug and weapon convictions, was arrested on another felony drug charge in September 2018 near Chicago and Kedzie avenues, the same area where many of last week’s overdoses took place. Cook County Judge Edward Maloney dropped that charge a month later, according to court records, though it’s unclear why.

Tate was also once convicted in 2002 murder case and sentenced to 50 years in prison, records show, only to have that conviction reversed on appeal. But he later pleaded guilty to various charges related to the case and was re-sentenced to more than 20 years in prison, records show. But at sentencing, a judge gave him credit for more than 15 years of time he served behind bars after his initial conviction.

Robinson, whose criminal history goes back to at least 1987, was arrested Wednesday, a day after the overdoses were reported.

He was taken into custody when police raided his apartment building in the Humboldt Park neighborhood after he allegedly sold heroin to undercover officers, police records show. He was charged with six felony drug offenses, including possession of a controlled substance and manufacturing with the intent to deliver heroin.

Police executing a search warrant found 40 pink-tinted bags containing heroin, one green-tinted bag with heroin and one black-tinted bag with crack cocaine. The confiscated drugs had an estimated street value of $1,529, according to a police report.

Officers also confiscated $299, which included $40 that undercover officers reported they paid the suspect for heroin. He allegedly sold heroin to undercover officers on two other occasions, the report states. Judge Arthur Wesley Willis released the man on his own recognizance Thursday. Court records show he had been complaining of “withdrawal symptoms.”

Court records show Robinson has convictions in at least seven felony drug cases. He was also convicted in 1996 of armed robbery and sentenced to eight years in prison, according to the records.

Emergency crews began dealing with a rash of overdoses around 9:40 a.m. Tuesday, mostly in parts of East Garfield Park. Police said witnesses reported someone in a silver sedan distributing drugs around the corner of Homan and Chicago avenues Tuesday morning, near where many of the victims were found.

Police said they were sold in clear zip-close plastic bags and contained fentanyl, 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.

The four deaths linked to the overdoses include a 34-year-old man found in a vehicle in the 4500 block of West Madison Street about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to a police spokeswoman. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two other men believed to have died from accidental overdoses have been identified by the Cook County medical examiner’s office as a 50-year-old man from the 600 block of North Homan Avenue and a 47-year-old man from the 5300 block of North East River Road on the Northwest Side.

A fourth man was found dead Tuesday night after apparently taking the deadly mixture, said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. A friend of the deceased told police they bought drugs and took them before falling asleep. The call came from the 600 block of North Drake Avenue, in East Garfield Park, about 8:10 p.m., police said. The 49-year-old man was pronounced dead on the scene, the spokesman said.

Autopsies on the four were performed Wednesday but did not yield definitive results and were marked pending by the medical examiner’s office. The office said it’s awaiting toxicology tests that will confirm whether the deaths were drug-related. The results of toxicology tests typically take up to eight weeks, the office said.

This is not the first time fentanyl has been blamed for an outbreak of overdoses in Chicago.

In fall 2015, the powerful narcotic was suspected of playing a role in as many as 75 overdoses in a three-day span. Before that, the last major outbreak occurred in the mid-2000s.

Dr. Allison Arwady, chief medical officer with the Chicago Department of Public Health, said the recent spike is definitely a health crisis but that, in the larger picture, it doesn’t stand out as all that unusual.

“We consider the opioid issue to be, yes, a crisis generally, here in Chicago,” she said. “The recent spike we’ve seen over the past few days is, unfortunately, not that much bigger than what we see every day or week.’’

Each day in Chicago, emergency medical personnel treat at least 20 overdose patients, according to Arwady.

“When we do see these sorts of increases in a very particular area, it tends to draw attention — which is good — to what unfortunately is a continuing problem here in Chicago,” she said.

Overdose deaths have been growing steadily in Chicago, Arwady said. “We went from fewer than 100 to more than 400 (in 2015). We know fentanyl is in a lot of the drug supply here.”

In 2017 there were nearly 800 fatal overdoses in the city. About 90 percent of the people had fentanyl or heroin in their systems and fewer than 4 percent had prescription drugs, the doctor said.

The department has a partnership with the Chicago Recovery Alliance, which focuses on “harm reduction.” That means helping people use drugs safely.

Representatives tour hardest-hit neighborhoods to offer tips and make sure people know where they can get help. “We provide funding for them,” the doctor said.

They also hand out free Narcan, which reverses the effects of opioids, and offer syringes. Narcan, a brand name for naloxone, is also being carried more by Chicago police officers, and it is always in ambulances.

Arwady said anyone using drugs should make sure Narcan is available. Users also should be with other people in case something happens. No prescription is needed for Narcan.

“The last few days we’ve taken the opportunity to remind (people) that our goal as a health department is to make sure harm reduction techniques are used,” the doctor said. “There are safer ways to use drugs and stay alive. Our highest priority is getting this medication in the areas it’s most needed.”

jgorner@chicagotribune.com

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