Crime & Safety
Man Charged With Narcotics Possession After Heroin Overdose
Information about the following incidents was supplied by the North Kingstown Police Department. An arrest does not indicate a conviction.
A North Kingstown man recently released from the Texas correctional system is facing charges of narcotics possession following an apparent overdose.
Joseph Dennis Belanger, 49, of 181 Dahlia Drive in North Kingstown was found lying on the bathroom floor of his father’s home, where he was staying on home confinement after his prison release.
Belanger’s father allegedly found him on the bathroom floor after hearing a thud apparently suffering from a heroin overdose. Belanger still had a syringe in his arm and told his father he was having a heart attack.
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He was transported to Kent Hospital for treatment and detox. Police found a syringe, a glass smoking pipe, and crack cocaine on Belanger during a search. He was arrested on Feb. 12 and charged with felony possession of narcotics.
Belanger’s overdose and arrest come amidst a surge in fatal overdoses in Rhode Island this past January. According to the State Department of Health, 22 people died from overdoses in the first 16 days of January.
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