Herald News

Orland Park man, now in recovery, a poster child for heroin problem

Mon, 28 May 2012 08:01:51 -0500

The road to hell runs up Kyle Dunn’s right forearm. His white skin is marked by blackened veins and pin-prick scars, evidence of a curse that is his to bear. Just months ago, the Orland Park man was boiling heroin in a cooker and shooting himself up. After years of drug abuse, he had gotten clean about two years ago. But the 23-year-old had a temporary relapse in November. “I should be dead for how much heroin I’ve done,” Dunn said matter-of-factly. “There’s a lot of people who have died who haven’t had as many chances as me. I should …

Bolingbrook forum to shed light on suburban heroin use

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 06:05:13 -0500

BOLINGBROOK — Residents are encouraged to be a part of the audience at an Oct. 18 live cable TV community forum that will address the growing heroin problem among teens and young adults in the suburbs. The “Bridging the Gap” conversation, which will be led by cable television talk show host Leroy Brown, will begin at 7 p.m. in the Bolingbrook Village Hall Board Room, 375 W. Briarcliff. “They’re targeting students more and more these days because it’s such an affordable drug,” said Brown, who also serves as school safety coordinator for Valley View School District. “The kids are oblivious …

Heroin epidemic symposium to be held at L-Way Central

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 06:04:33 -0500

NEW LENOX — In the wake of the heroin-related deaths of two New Lenox teenagers this year, an educational symposium will be held Sept. 27 to address what local officials perceive as a heroin epidemic in Will County. All ages are invited to attend the event from 7 to 9 p.m. at Lincoln-Way Central High School auditorium, 1801 E. Route 30. It is hosted by the village of New Lenox, its Safe Communities America Coalition, the New Lenox Police Department and Will County HELPS (Heroin Education Leads to Preventative Solutions). A resource fair will be from 6 to 7 p.m., …

Joliet police make large heroin seizure

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 11:10:45 -0500

JOLIET — Police say a “phantom grandfather” led them to the largest heroin seizure in department history Tuesday night. At 8:54 p.m. tactical officers Aaron Bandy and Terrence Gruber were on patrol near Maple and Gougar roads when a Hyundai Genesis with Ohio license plates failed to signal when turning, Chief Mike Trafton said. “The driver, Lamar D. Egler, was extremely nervous when the officers approached. His hands were shaking,” Trafton said. Egler also allegedly told Bandy he was visiting the area on vacation. But passenger Lewis D. Hall, 38, reportedly told Gruber they were here to visit his sick …

Police Blotter: New Lenox man charged with heroin possession, intent to deliver

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 17:44:27 -0500

NEW LENOX — Police reportedly found a man carrying a toy gun, switchblades and heroin during a traffic stop Tuesday. Lawrence Hartman, 32, was the subject of an ongoing narcotics investigation when he was stopped at 1:05 p.m. for texting on his phone while driving through a construction zone, police said. After allegedly finding 2.5 grams of heroin in the vehicle, police searched Hartman’s residence, 278 Woodlawn Road, and “discovered numerous prescriptions for medication that he was not authorized to possess,” police said. Hartman was hospitalized for a pre-existing medical condition but will face one count of possession of narcotics …

Hundreds attend rally against heroin use in Will Co.

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 01:51:18 -0500

ROMEOVILLE — Young voices spoke with moving realism. Professionals spoke with grave concern. Grieving fathers reflected on their losses. And hundreds of visitors heard their message: Heroin is an epidemic in Will County. “Too many of our citizens are dying, and it’s up to all of us to stop the senseless deaths,” County Executive Larry Walsh said. Two local groups organized a large community forum Friday at Lewis University: HERO, the Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization; and HELPS, an acronym for Heroin Education Leads to Preventative Solutions. The forum brought in speakers from law enforcement, the judiciary, government, health care, science, …

Road to recovery from heroin addiction includes relapses

Mon, 14 May 2012 08:17:22 -0500

HOMER GLEN — Addicted to opiates, Bill Patrianakos was working for a tyrant. He felt compelled to steal and make counterfeit money to satisfy his drug habit. His friend overdosed. He himself overdosed. He seemed out of control. He was under the tyrant’s control. That old life was not freedom. However, Patrianakos has freedom in his life today. He is recovered from his addiction, he has been free from drugs for years, and he now is a Web developer, close to earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science at DeVry University. He is on the board of directors of the …

Heroin in Will County: ‘We never worried about the consequences’

Sun, 13 May 2012 10:29:18 -0500

JOLIET — Ricky Weese and Lauren Norberg used to date — and they used to steal to support their heroin habits. “We robbed his parents. We manipulated everybody. Took out (multiple vehicle) title loans, intentionally bounced checks from my account,” the 24-year-old Norberg said. “Nothing mattered. We never worried about the consequences.” While he was growing up on the East Side, Weese, 27, saw his father regularly drink and smoke marijuana, he says. So,the people he felt more comfortable around by the time he was in junior high were those doing drugs. “I was 12 when I started smoking weed, …

Police on heroin: ‘The poison brings crime’

Sat, 12 May 2012 08:13:03 -0500

JOLIET — The 26-year-old Gardner man was laying between two vehicles in the Taco Bell parking lot when he was found. His girlfriend came out to get her phone from the car and ended up calling 911. Police reports indicate he was “foaming at the mouth, conscious and bleeding from a track mark in his arm.” While it took paramedics to make sure he survived, it didn’t take a detective to figure out what happened March 24. Especially after the victim admitted he’d been a heroin addict for two years and had just shot up in the bathroom and flushed …

Heroin problem only getting worse

Fri, 11 May 2012 08:06:31 -0500

HOMER GLEN — John Roberts watched his son come home from work at night, drained with fatigue. Inside his mind, the son was languishing in another kind of night, isolated, foreign, hopeless. Heroin was the night within. Roberts thought that his son, Billy, was tired after working long hours. Billy sometimes worked day and night, covering co-workers’ shifts. He saved money. He wanted to buy a car. He wanted to go back to high school. Heroin took the life out of those goals, and then it took Billy’s life on Sept. 20, 2009. He was 19. That year, 29 people …

Heroin leaves deadly mark on Will County

Thu, 10 May 2012 08:07:19 -0500

HOMER GLEN — Billy Roberts had a work ethic and dreams, a watchful father and mother and a nice home in a spacious subdivision, but his life was being destroyed by drugs. He fought repeatedly to recover, but the urge kept returning, until a heroin overdose brought on the sleep of death. Heroin is a killer and a liar. Under the appearance of sleep, it slowed down his system, it stopped his heart, it took his life at age 18. The young Homer Glen resident thought he could control heroin, but heroin ended up controlling him. He sought euphoria, but …