43
Newton Falls man who sickened deputies with fentanyl sentenced
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Martin E. Higinbotham, 48, of Newton Falls, who kicked fentanyl into the faces of Trumbull County deputies a year ago, forcing them to seek medical treatment, was sentenced to 16 months in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to all charges.
The incident occurred Jan. 18, 2018, at Higinbotham’s home in the Blue Water Manor mobile home park on King’s Drive in Newton Township.
Deputies and ambulance personnel responded to a report of Higinbotham having overdosed. While ambulance workers revived Higinbotham with the opiate-reversal drug naloxone, two deputies attempted to collect suspected heroin and fentanyl from a table not far from Higinbotham.
When he awoke, Higimbotham kicked the table with both feet, knocking a cloud of drugs into the air near the deputies. The officers said they believed the act was intentional.
They escorted Higinbotham to an ambulance, but two of them said they were not “feeling right.” All three were taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Higinbotham pleaded guilty Wednesday before Judge W. Wyatt McKay of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to three counts of assault on a police officer, one of tampering with evidence and two of aggravated drug possession.
Deputies had collected enough of the drugs on the table to submit to the state crime lab, and it tested positive for fentanyl, Judge McKay said during Higinbotham’s hearing. Police also confiscated five hydrocodone pills.
When asked if he wanted to say anything before sentencing, Higinbotham said “No sir.” None of the deputies or ambulance workers attended the hearing.
Major Jeff Palmer, who is in charge of all sheriff’s operations except the jail, said the the experience opened officers’ eyes to “be aware of their surroundings and what they are dealing with.”
He said that is “not only for the officers’ safety but for any bystanders who might be around. It taught our people a valuable lesson.”
When it happened, a few other officers in the state had experienced something similar, and it has continued to occur since then.
Today, police officers better understand that an exposure to a dangerous chemical “can happen anytime anywhere,” Palmer said.