Coroner identifies man killed in overdose incident – Chico Enterprise-Record

OROVILLE — The man who died Saturday in what Chico police have described as a massive overdose incident has been identified.

The Butte County Coroner’s Office said Monday he is Aris Turner, 34, of Chico.

The Coroner’s Office said an autopsy is pending, and it was not aware of any additional deaths connected to the incident.

Chico police responded about 9 a.m. Saturday to a 9-1-1 call reporting a “mass overdose” incident at a home in the 1100 block of Santana Court, near East and Ceres avenues, Police Chief Mike O’Brien said.

One person died on the scene, and 12 adults were taken to Enloe Medical Center for treatment, O’Brien said. It’s believed the people suffered from an overdose of some form of fentanyl in combination with another drug.

Police believe some sort of after-party was being held at the home by people who knew each other.

“Amazingly,” the police chief said Monday, all the people taken to area hospitals have since been discharged or were in good condition. On Saturday, the authorities believed it was possible more people could have died in connection with the incident.

It’s believed 9-1-1 was called as the people began to experience the effects of an opioid overdose.

O’Brien said the incident was likely caused by the ingestion of some form of the powerful narcotic fentanyl in combination with another substance. The other substance has not yet been confirmed. The police chief said officers through their investigation have recovered suspected illicit drugs, and samples have been collected for testing.

A spokesperson for Enloe Medical Center said Monday that hospital officials also were working with the authorities to identify the nature of the substance.

The Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force was tasked with the investigation at the Santana Court home, which had been treated as a hazmat site. O’Brien said the case remained under investigation, with investigators looking into the potential for any criminal liability in connection with the incident.

In response to a question regarding any past police contact at the Santana Court home, O’Brien said in 2018 there were about 10 calls where officers responded there. The vast majority were for complaints of noise. Another call was for a case of reported domestic violence, and another for leaking vehicle liquid.

The police chief cautioned against illicit drug use. He said the potency of illicit drugs has always been a concern. He said forms of fentanyl, which officials have seen start to pick up on the west coast, can be extremely dangerous even in small doses.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office on Monday said it was investigating another possible overdose case that happened about 11:30 a.m. Monday at Gold Country Casino and Hotel in the Oroville area.

Deputies, firefighters and medics responded to the casino and found a woman, two men and a 5-month-old child at the scene.

The woman and two men showed signs of suffering from a drug overdose, and emergency personnel administered the opioid antidote Narcan. The men and women were subsequently taken to a local hospital and were listed in stable condition.

The child was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, and also was in stable condition. The Sheriff’s Office said it was working with Child Protective Services to ensure the child’s safety.

The Sheriff’s Office said there was evidence in the case of illegal drug use, which was likely to be heroin. More tests would be conducted to determine whether other substances were present in the drugs.

“We’re looking closely to determine whether or not fentanyl is involved,” according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.

Officials also will investigate whether the casino incident was in any way connected to the mass overdose incident in Chico.

“I am very concerned about this situation,” Sheriff Kory Honea said in the release. “This is a significant public safety and public health risk. We are concerned that the potency of the illegal drugs on the street right now is very high or the possibility of the drugs being laced with another substance, which is causing these overdoses.”