By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com
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Several young men between the ages of 15 and 23 were sent to area hospitals Thursday after Cleburne police and firefighters responded to a call involving possible overdose. The incident occurred about 8:30 p.m. in the 1300 block of East Kilpatrick Avenue.
Officials pointed to a legal recreational drug known as K-2, which several of the victims had been smoking before becoming sick.
Thursday’s call marked the first report CPD has responded to regarding the drug, Sgt. Amy Knoll said.
K-2 consists of herbs coated with a synthetic chemical to mimic a marijuana high when smoked, according to a recent USA Today article.
“K-2 is marketed as incense and sold at several local stores,” Knoll said. “The packages are clearly marked, ‘Not for human consumption.’ While the possession of K-2 is not illegal, we strongly encourage parents to be aware that some are using it as an intoxicant. We would also like to emphasize the fact that all four of the persons who were smoking K-2 in this case were taken to various hospitals with symptoms that included severe vomiting, seizures and unresponsiveness. K-2 appears to be a dangerous substance when used in this manner.”
Rescue workers arrived to find a smoke-filled apartment with two males lying over the arm of a couch and another on his hands and knees in the middle of the room. All were taken outside to a breezeway area. Police recovered a bong used to smoke the K-2. Another man was found sitting in the hallway outside the apartment.
All four were transported to area hospitals. Details of their conditions have not been released.
Although K-2, also known as spice, remains legal in Texas for now, several states have either banned or moved to ban the drug.
Don’t forget to
check the seat
Police and firefighters responded to an accident involving damage Saturday only to find that the driver had fled before their arrival. They did find a Ford F-150 crashed into a fire hydrant at the corner of Princeton and McAnear streets. They also found a pay stub in the truck listing the driver’s address. Police responded to that address and arrested Tiburcio Rodriguez Jiminez, 36, of Cleburne on a charge of accident involving damage. Officials estimate that about 162,000 gallons of water sprayed from the busted hydrant.
Three down, one to go
Police arrested three of four suspects who fled the scene Saturday. The incident occurred about 12:50 a.m. near the intersection of Kilpatrick and Granbury streets and started when an officer turned his patrol car around to make contact with the driver of a dirt bike that had no headlight. By the time the officer returned to the scene, all he found was the dirt bike laying in the middle of the intersection. Witnesses pointed the officer in the direction of where several subjects had fled in a separate vehicle.
The officer spotted the vehicle in a alley off Kilpatrick Street a short time later. Two of the occupants fled on foot. Police caught one a short time later. The other remains at large.
Police arrested Colby Shane Anderson, 17, of Cleburne on charges of minor in possession of alcohol and tobacco; William Colton Cleveland, 17, of Joshua on a charge of possession of a prohibited weapon, and Taylor James Burchfield, 17, of Godley on a charge of evading arrest on foot.
Police were unable to find two suspects involved in a Friday incident involving a traffic accident. The driver of a Dodge Dakota traveling north on North Wilhite Street at about 7:50 p.m. failed to control his speed and hit an unoccupied Mitsubishi Galant legally parked on the street. The impact propelled the Mitsubishi into a utility pole. The Dodge driver fled the scene but abandoned his vehicle near the corner of Dallas and Robinson streets. The man then jumped into a separate vehicle driven by a female who then fled the scene, witnesses said.
Police reports list a woman as having suffered possible injury Friday after her Volkswagen Jetta ran into a building. The woman told rescue workers she wanted to go to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne just to be checked out.
The woman told police she inadvertently stepped on the gas instead of the brake when pulling into a parking space near a building in the 1700 block of West Henderson Street.
Firefighters noted minor front end damage to the car in addition to a bent steel beam and brick damage to the building.
House fire
A Sunday house fire in the 1400 block of Phillips Street resulted in moderate damage. No one was home at the time of the fire, which occurred about 2 a.m.
A nearby resident smelled smoke and went to investigate. The man told firefighters he saw smoke coming from the house. The man said he found a water hose and sprayed water through the home’s broken back door. The man then kicked in the front door, entered the house and yelled for any occupants to get out.
Firefighters later learned that the homeowners were out of town at the time.
Firefighters quickly knocked down the small fire and searched the home for additional hot spots before removing some salvage and furniture from the home. The fire led to moderate damage in one room and heat and smoke damage in others, firefighters said.
The fire started after the family’s pet cat apparently knocked a lamp over onto a sofa, Cleburne Fire Marshal Bill Wright said.
