Trish Bennett, Editor
CIRCLEVILLE – A father and son were arrested on drug-related charges after both reportedly overdosed in the parking lot at Big Lots on Saturday.
Paul T. Swank Sr., 51, and Paul T. Swank Jr., 27, both of Mt. Sterling, were discovered unresponsive in a vehicle in the business parking lot about 6 p.m. Saturday.
According to reports, Circleville Police were dispatched to Big Lots at 201 Lancaster Pike on the report of a male subject with a head injury in a vehicle in the parking lot. Witnesses said the male’s upper body was lying outside the vehicle, and his head was on the pavement.
When officers arrived, they advised they found two unresponsive males in the vehicle with hypodermic syringes in plain view.
Two officers rendered aid to Swank Sr. in the driver’s seat, the report states, and one officer removed Swank Jr. from the passenger side of the vehicle and performed one cycle of CPR. Circleville EMS then arrived on the scene and took control of the medical treatment.
Officers reported finding a used syringe between the legs of Swank Jr. on the front passenger seat, along with a loaded syringe on Swank Sr. after removing him from the driver’s seat. A search of the vehicle also reportedly produced an aluminum can with a brown, tar-like residue in the center console.
Both men were transported to Berger Hospital emergency room for treatment, where they allegedly admitted to using heroin. Once released from the hospital, they were arrested and charged with possession of drug abuse instruments, a second-degree misdemeanor, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.
They were held in the Pickaway County Jail until an initial hearing Monday in Circleville Municipal Court, where they were released on a personal recognizance bond pending a pretrial hearing set for May 1.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
