Overdose leads police to possible explosives

The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen SUSPICIOUS DEVICES: Arkansas State Police Bomb Squad members Sgt. Mike Dawson, left, and Cpl. Hunter Glover look over some suspicious devices located at 405 Alcorn St. after a resident reportedly died of a fatal drug overdose there early Thursday.
The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen SUSPICIOUS DEVICES: Arkansas State Police Bomb Squad members Sgt. Mike Dawson, left, and Cpl. Hunter Glover look over some suspicious devices located at 405 Alcorn St. after a resident reportedly died of a fatal drug overdose there early Thursday.

Three possibly explosive devices were reportedly located at the scene of a suspected fatal drug overdose early Thursday.

Hot Springs police were called to 405 Alcorn St., Apt. C, to assist LifeNet with a reported drug overdose at 12:44 a.m. Thursday, police said in a news release.

Officers found the resident, Joseph Dustin Daniels, 30, unresponsive on the floor, and immediately began to administer CPR, the release said. Hot Springs police Officer 1st Class Joey Williams said officers also administered Narcan, an opioid overdose treatment.

"Daniels did not respond to the aid" and was pronounced dead by the coroner, the release said.

During the investigation, it was discovered there were three possible explosive devices in the residence, the release said.

The Arkansas State Police Bomb Squad was contacted and responded to the scene to secure the devices and dispose of them, it said.

The Arkansas Department of Human Services also responded to the scene because there were children in the residence, Williams said.

Daniels, his wife and children had been living at the residence for about two months, Jerry Parnell, the owner of the residence and their landlord, told The Sentinel-Record Thursday.

"He was a fine young man, nice family, always paid their rent on time. I never had a problem with them," he said, noting Daniels' death and the discovery of possible explosives was "a total surprise" to him and the other tenants in the building.

"They had to be evacuated and were all standing outside on the lawn. They were all surprised. They were a quiet family, didn't have a lot of people coming and going," he said.

Williams said the incident was still under investigation.

Local on 06/08/2018

Upcoming Events