'Multiple hand-to-hand transactions': Arrest warrant provides more details in Austin overdose surge
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- An arrest affidavit provided more details about two people considered persons of interest in the overdose surge that happened this week in downtown Austin. The Austin Police Department and Austin-Travis County EMS continue to investigate the sudden rise in overdoses.
APD officers and ATCEMS began responding to the suspected overdose calls around 9 a.m., April 29 in downtown Austin. Throughout the day, officials responded to other calls "within a few blocks of each other," according to the affidavit.
APD said it detained two persons of interest in connection with the series of overdoses on Wednesday.
One of the people was identified Thursday as Johnny Lee Wright, 55, according to police. Wright was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a third-degree felony.
Wright has a court-appointed attorney. KXAN is working to find contact information and will update this story if we receive a statement on behalf of Wright.
On Friday, ATCEMS declared the end of the overdose surge, according to a news release. From Monday to Friday, the agency said there were a total of 79 suspected overdose incidents, nine deaths and 438 doses of Narcan distributed.
How the persons of interest were identified
As a way to "detect/report crimes in progress and suspicious or illegal activity to officers" in the downtown area, the APD Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) "operates the High Activity Location Observation (H.A.L.O.) cameras in more than 40 locations" downtown, according to the affidavit.
The HALO cameras "produce a high resolution picture and possess powerful zoom capabilities," court records said. These cameras allowed HALO operators to see "multiple hand-to-hand transactions" between the first person of interest and Wright. The person would hand Wright the "suspected narcotics," and then he "would deliver them to the customer," according to the affidavit.
"This is a common practice in open-air drug markets, as the dealer attempts to distance themselves from the narcotics transaction," the affidavit said. Based off the HALO footage, investigators believe Wright and the other person were possible suspects distributing the narcotics to people who overdosed, court records said.
Both Wright and the other person "were known by officers who regularly worked the downtown area as narcotics dealers," according to police.
Wright has "several previous felony convictions," with the most recent one listed as unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the affidavit.
The other person, who has not been identified by police, was arrested on a charge of possession of a controlled substance, court records said.
Wright remained in the Travis County Jail on Friday on a $10,000 bond, according to online court records.