Police: Round Lake Park couple overdoses on spiked heroin

A married couple faces criminal drug charges after overdosing on heroin laced with a painkiller stronger than morphine, Round Lake Park police said.

Police Chief George Filenko said an ambulance took the couple to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville after authorities were summoned by the husband Wednesday night. The couple was charged after being treated, he said.

Lisa A. Knowles, 37, and her 43-year-old husband, James, were charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and unlawful possession of a hypodermic needle.

Filenko said Lisa Knowles was overdosing on the heroin when James called 911 at 6:52 p.m. Wednesday. James Knowles began suffering from an overdose when officers arrived at their trailer home on the 400 block of Center Lane.

Tests on the roughly 15 grams of heroin recovered from the home showed it contained doses of fentanyl, which is a painkiller stronger than morphine and typically administered through a patch to cancer patients, Filenko said. Illegal fentanyl powder supposedly provides an extra jolt to heroin users.

Filenko said a double overdose incident is rare. He said the Knowles reported buying their heroin for $20 in Zion and inhaling it before overdosing.

"This really concerns me," he said. "Drug addiction is a national problem. But now you have the possibility of foreign substances being introduced to street-level drugs."

Dozens of deaths were reported in the Chicago area in 2006 from heroin batches spiked with fentanyl. Last year, more than 100 suburban residents died from a heroin overdose, according to local coroners.