Nov 22, 2016 2 min read

A man who reported Monday to the Washington County booking center for fingerprinting collapsed from an apparent drug overdose Monday but was revived with multiple doses of an opiate antidote.

The overdose victim, who was not identified, was going through the booking process in the center when he collapsed and turned ashen.

Sheriff Samuel Romano said Deputies Anthony Andronas and Brady Pascoe, who were stationed at the West Cherry Avenue entrance to the courthouse, responded.

“Our guys used Narcan four times,” Romano said.

The deputies checked for drug possession but found none.

“He didn’t use (drugs) in the courthouse,” the sheriff said. “He used somewhere outside. It boggles your mind that you’re going to see your probation officer and you’re going to use drugs.”

Court Administrator Patrick Grimm said staff from the Public Safety Department and probation department responded before the victim was taken by ambulance to Washington Hospital. Romano said paramedics administered Narcan for the suspected heroin overdose.

The incident Monday was believed to be the first reported drug overdose inside the courthouse complex, although Romano said he recalled several years ago, a man fatally overdosed in the open-air Courthouse Square plaza. There were 73 drug overdose deaths in Washington County last year.

The man who overdosed in the booking center in the Family Court Center, also known as the old jail, was one of three drug overdoses reported Monday in the county.

Grimm said defendants sometimes arrive for court dates while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but judges cannot accept a plea from someone who is not thinking clearly.