2 apparent heroin overdose deaths in Petaluma in 24 hours

Two Petaluma men, 19 and 67, died in a 24-hour period during a pair of apparent heroin overdoses, police said.

The 67-year-old died about 5 a.m. Monday at a Magnolia Avenue apartment, Petaluma Lt. Tim Lyon said. Officers found the man unconscious at the west Petaluma residence. A person with the victim had given him an opioid antidote and officers administered a second dose, but the man couldn’t be revived, Lyons said. The drug, naloxone, often works to revive someone who has overdosed on heroin.

On Sunday, police were called to an east Petaluma apartment about 11 a.m. regarding a possible drug overdose. After kicking open a locked bedroom door, they discovered the body of the 19-year-old. A brown, tar-like substance was found on a burnt spoon alongside a hypodermic needle - indications of heroin use, Lyons said.

Drug overdose deaths have been occurring sporadically in the city, Lyons said.

Last April, a 16-year-old Petaluma boy died from a drug overdose while at home with his mother. The teen’s mother was arrested and convicted of abandoning her son during a medical emergency. She was given a 19-year prison sentence.

In April, as part of a field program, Petaluma police officers began carrying naloxone, the fast-acting drug that has saved thousands from overdosing on opioids. The antidote, also known by the brand name Narcan, comes in the form of a nasal spray and works by blocking opiates from attaching to receptors in the brain, reversing the drug’s effects.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport.