Arrest Made in Multiple Drug Overdose Case
Sheriff’s detectives arrested a 24-year-old man for allegedly selling what was believed to be OxyContin at an Isla Vista party where nine men overdosed. Edward Caceres, who lives in I.V. and was on probation for other drug related offenses, was booked in jail on a $250,000 bail.
Two weeks ago, at a party on the 6500 block of Del Playa Drive, police were called after one man fell unconscious. Responders found him lying in the backseat of a car parked out front of the party house. While still at the property, deputies and medics eventually found eight others inside showing signs of a drug overdose. One man was given naloxone, the opioid reversal drug commonly referred as Narcan, and the others were transported to the hospital. Seven of the nine were UC Santa Barbara students. They all survived.
The sheriff’s investigation led detectives to Caceres’s residence on the 6500 block of Trigo Road, according to the department. Caceres was hiding inside. Upon searching the apartment, detectives found 185 Xanax pills and about a pound of processed cannabis. They arrested him along with his roommate, Omar Coulibaly, 23, for possession of marijuana for sales. Coulibaly was booked in the county jail and released on a citation, the Sheriff’s Office said. Caceres remains in custody.
The nine men had been drinking alcohol when they took a blue pill that was described as OxyContin. Oxycontin that comes in the form of blue pills contain 160 mg of oxycodone — made for patients suffering chronic pain. Drug experts say someone under the influence of alcohol could overdose on 15 mg.
