Barrie police say they’ve charged a 36-year-old Innisfil, Ont., man with manslaughter after a man who wasn’t breathing was taken to the hospital as a result of a likely fentanyl overdose.
Last Tuesday morning, city police say they were made aware of a 25-year-old man who was sent to the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie, Ont., without vital signs.
According to police, a group of people had gathered at a home in Innisfil, where they socialized during the early morning hours and consumed alcohol and illegal drugs.
At that time, a man who was in attendance went into medical distress, and police say it was determined that fentanyl, which was supplied by someone present at the gathering, had been used and that the 25-year-old man was likely suffering from an overdose.
Officers say no one contacted emergency services, resulting in the deterioration of the 25-year-old man’s health.
The man was later taken to the hospital by a couple of people who were at the gathering, but by that time, it was too late and the man was pronounced dead by hospital staff, police say.
Last Thursday afternoon, a 36-year-old man went to the Barrie Police Headquarters, where he was arrested and charged with drug trafficking, drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, manslaughter and failure to comply with probation.
The 36-year-old man had a bail hearing on Friday. He was remanded into custody and will next appear in court in Barrie on March 26.