HEROIN KILLS ANOTHER USER IN CAMDEN

Killer heroin claimed another life yesterday in Camden.

The fatal overdose was at least the 12th in Philadelphia, South
Jersey and Delaware in two weeks.

It was one of five overdoses reported in Camden from heroin that
authorities believe was mixed with fentanyl, a powerful surgical
analgesic.

The 23-year-old Gibbstown woman was found about 12:30 p.m in the 600
block of State Street in North Camden in the back of a vacant, fire-
damaged building, Camden Police Capt. Joseph Richardson said. The
victim, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead at 1:45 p.m.

"The heroin bags found in the area were labeled 'Dbloc,' " Richardson
said.

Four other overdoses were reported between 3 and 4:30 p.m. - two at
Seventh Street and Kaighn Avenue in South Camden and two at Seventh
and Cedar Street in North Camden.

Richardson said that one of those overdose patients taken to the
hospital had briefly died but that paramedics revived him.

Oscar Hernandez of My Brother's Keeper, a drug-rehabilitation program
in Camden, said he had heard that the overdoses had spread to
Delaware and Maryland.

One of those familiar with the North Camden trade is Wanda Martinez,
44, who saw the Gibbstown victim just before the woman died.

"She came out of the store," Martinez said. "She was very, very high."

She said the woman had been with a man who also appeared high.

"I told him to take her under the tree where there was shade because
she didn't look like she could be under the sun's rays," Martinez
said. "They had bought ices at the corner store. ... She told her
boyfriend, 'Honey, I don't feel good.' "

Hernandez said the man left before police arrived.

"Somebody just lost their baby," said Richardson, who noted that his
daughter was about the same age as the victim. "We've put out a news
release, telling people, 'Don't come to Camden to buy drugs.' "

Federal, county and local law enforcement officials were
investigating, he said. In the past, Richardson said, some residents
suggested setting up blockades to keep suburban buyers from fueling
Camden's drug trade, but he said that would be unconstitutional.

Sister Helen Cole, who ministers the streets of North Camden, said
nothing seemed to stop the drug trade, not even deaths. Former
dealers and current addicts have said reports of powerful heroin only
attract more trade.

"Heroin is a terrible addiction," Sister Helen said, standing outside
her home near Fifth and State Streets, a block from where the latest
victim was found. "That's because people need it just to be normal."

She said the Camden heroin trade usually peaked between 6 and 8 a.m.
as the "drug seekers" headed to work. Other drugs, such as marijuana
and crack, are sold at the end of the day or on weekends, she said.

"They get diarrhea and start vomiting, but once they get the heroin,
they're normal again," Sister Helen said. "When they take that
heroin, they feel so much better. They can go to work and be
productive."

She said the attraction was the high, but later it's just a matter of
maintenance.

Sister Helen said that since police had started confiscating buyers'
cars, the customers, many of them young suburbanites, parked on State
Street and walked around the corner to make purchases near Fifth and
Grant.

"The need to do drugs is so desperate," she said, "but it's also
about money."