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Man Charged In 27 Huntington Overdoses Pleads Not Guilty

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) – A trial date has been set for an Ohio man who has pleaded not guilty to heroin distribution in connection to 27 overdoses in a five-hour span in a single West Virginia city.

The Herald-Dispatch reports 22-year-old Bruce Lamar Griggs of Akron, Ohio, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to drug distribution charges following the Aug. 15 spate of overdoses in Huntington. At least one man died.

His trial in federal court is set for Nov. 29.

An affidavit filed in court alleges that one of the victims who survived identified Griggs as the dealer, and police corroborated it with other witnesses and video surveillance near where the overdoses occurred.

Griggs’ indictment revealed that investigators believe the heroin was mixed with the powerful painkiller fentanyl.