Smuggled narcotics are to blame for two inmates at the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio to apparently overdose.
The men, one from McClure and the other from Toledo, are recovering in the CCNO infirmary for medical observation. They have since been placed in placed in disciplinary segregation, a press release from the prison stated.
Around 10:20 p.m. May 1, a unit officer observed several inmates gathering around two bunk areas. The officer found both inmates were having respiratory problems and called for assistance.
The inmates were taken by Williams County EMS to the Community Hospital of Williams County in Bryan where they were treated, released, returned to CCNO.
CCNO Executive Director Jim Dennis identified the inmates involved as Timothy Croninger and Kevin Darah. Both had been housed in a 64-bed minimum security unit at the time of the incident.
Preliminary information shows both inmates had gone into the unit bathroom and overdosed from smoking K2 spice, a synthetic drug that had been smuggled into the facility, Dennis stated. Following the incident, the unit was searched and all inmates were strip searched, he said.
An investigation continues into the matter.
Croninger, 36, McClure, was serving a nine-month sentence out of Defiance County for a probation violation.
Darah, 45, Toledo, was serving a 10-month sentence out of Lucas County for breaking and entering.