DETROIT SUSPECT ARRAIGNED IN LETHAL HEROIN CASE

DETROIT -- One of two men arrested in an investigation into a lethal
form of heroin blamed for more than 100 deaths in the Detroit area
alone was arraigned Saturday on drug possession and weapons charges.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Daren Reese on Thursday in the sale of a
mix of heroin and the prescription drug fentanyl. They said he was
carrying 80 packets of the drug combination known on the streets as
"Magic" or "A-1."

Reese, 45, of Detroit, faces charges including four counts of
delivering and manufacturing a controlled substance, and two felony
weapons charges for carrying a firearm and body armor. He was being
held in the Wayne County Jail on $200,000 bond.

A preliminary examination was expected in the next two weeks.

Paul Curtis, a lawyer representing Reese, told the Detroit Free Press
after the hearing at 36th District Court that Reese was a scapegoat
for authorities trying to show they are combating the fentanyl scourge.

The case involving the other suspect, who authorities say sold drugs
to an undercover deputy, was expected to be dealt with on Monday,
Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said Saturday. His name wasn't released.

A tip from a woman who survived a dose of the deadly drug mix last
month helped police in their investigation, Evans said.

"It led us to a number of arrests prior to this one," Evans said. "It
did start the chain of events that got us here."

Both men are accused of selling the drug from the Jeffries housing
project north of downtown. However, they did not work together, police said.

Evans said Reese was a key distributor who had been under
surveillance for nearly a week before his arrest outside of his
apartment. He said the focus now is to establish a link to the deaths.

Fentanyl, a legally produced painkiller, is 80 times stronger than
morphine. Officials in cities from Chicago to Philadelphia have
reported deaths from the combination, more than 200 in all.