Deputy revives burglary suspect who overdosed

Published 1:30 am Friday, August 27, 2021

A 40-year-old Clinton resident who was a suspect in a burglary swallowed heroin and overdosed just prior to being arrested at his home Aug. 22, according to court documents.

A deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office, however, was able to revive him by administering two doses of naloxone.

The suspect, Garrett J. Edwards, appeared in Island County Superior Court two days later and the judge set his bail at $15,000.

Prosecutors charged Edwards with possessing stolen property in the first degree.

Court documents indicate that Edwards has a lengthy criminal history involving theft-related charges that go back 20 years.

According to a deputy’s report, a man who lived in a travel trailer on a Cultus Bay Road property reported that Edwards had broken into the trailer and an adjacent shed; Edwards allegedly stole $13,000 worth of tools and sports cards.

Deputies went to a small cabin where Edwards lived to arrest him on a Department of Corrections felony warrant related to a different case. Edwards told them that the stolen items were inside the cabin and gave deputies permission to collect them, the report states.

Edwards told a deputy that he had swallowed heroin. A short time later, Edwards collapsed and a deputy administered two doses of naloxone nasal spray two minutes apart.

After the second dose, Edwards became alert and instantly started writhing in pain; he was taken to the hospital by ambulance, according to the report.

Edwards’ adult felony record dates back to 1999.

In 2016, Edwards was convicted of trafficking in stolen property, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of stolen property related to a Freeland burglary in which numerous firearms, large amounts of jewelry, electronics and other items were stolen, according to court records. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

In 2008, Edwards was sentenced to 20 months in prison for attempting to elude a police vehicle, DUI and possessing burglary tools.

In 2003, Edwards was sentenced to 23 months in prison for attempting to elude and assault in the third degree.

Earlier in 2003, he was convicted of two counts of possessing stolen property and sentenced to three months in jail.

In 2000, Edwards was sentenced to a year in prison on two counts of theft of a firearm.

In 1999, he was sentenced to five months in jail for forging a check.