He was charged with a level 2 felony of dealing narcotics and having more than 10 grams of heroin and drug paraphernalia, as well as two level 5 felonies of dealing in narcotics. He was also charged with violating adult probation, according to jail bookings.
Beason’s case was closed when police received information he would be driving to Indianapolis to pick up a large supply of heroin, according to the report.
After receiving this information, police began surveillance of his home. As they watched Beason on Wednesday, police and investigators on the scene were able to confirm the tip. After obtaining a warrant to search Beason’s apartment on Maple Street, police discovered more than 10 grams of heroin as well as a number of pills.
The kinds of pills were not specified in the police report, but Bloomington Police Department Capt. Steve Kellams said they were likely narcotics of some kind.
Beason was neither a small nor large dealer in Bloomington, Kellams said. He said Beason would be considered an “active dealer,” and busts of this size occur fairly often at BPD.
“Heroin has been on the comeback for years,” Kellams said. “We have done a number of fairly large heroin cases over the years.”
Although Beason’s residence was on the north side of town and otherwise removed from IU’s campus, Kellams said he wouldn’t acknowledge whether or not IU students contribute to the area’s growing heroin problem.
“Heroin knows no boundaries,” Kellams said. “I would never doubt IU students. I’d never put it all on students either, though. Heroin truly has no boundaries.”
Heroin overdose, use of Narcan unknown
Bloomington police responded to a report of a “sick person” at about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday on the south side of Bloomington. The call referred to the heroin overdose of a 35-year-old man, according to a police report.
Officers watched IU Health medics administer aid for several minutes until the man was revived. The specific type of aid, whether it was Narcan or Naloxone, was unspecified in the report.
Use of Narcan is typically undocumented by Bloomington Police Department officers, Capt. Steve Kellams said.
However, the BPD is working toward a procedural shift that equips all officers with some form of Narcan in instances of overdose, Kellams said. Narcan is carried in all IU Health ambulances, but some forms, such as nasal spray, may soon be carried by all BPD officers, Kellams said.
“We wouldn’t inject it,” Kellams said, adding that the use of nasal spray is within the training and comfort zone of most BPD officers. He didn’t specify a date when BPD officers will begin carrying and administering Narcan.
“This is something that has been on our burner for a while,” Kellams
